Shaun the Sheep, the animated character created by Wallace and Gromit's Nick Park, is to get his own movie, it was announced on Sunday.
Shaun first appeared in A Close Shave, the third Wallace and Gromit film from 1995 that went on to win the Oscar for best animated short. He then became the central character in a CBBC TV series that was first broadcast in 2007. The film's plot is described as an "epic adventure" in which "Shaun, Bitzer and the flock have to go to the big city to rescue [the Farmer]".
The UK's Aardman Animations, which has created all the Wallace and Gromit films as well as more recent work such as Arthur Christmas and The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists, is teaming up with the French-owned powerhouse StudioCanal to make the film. It will be directed by Richard Starzak (aka Goleszowski), creative director on the Shaun the Sheep TV series for the last five years, and Mark Burton, co-writer of Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
David Sproxton, Aardman's executive chairman and a producer on The Pirates! said: "Shaun and his friends have a massive global following and we are very excited about being able to put them into a bigger adventure for the big screen." Olivier Courson, StudioCanal's CEO, said: "Shaun is a character you love at first sight whatever your age. We are really happy to work with Aardman; it's such a talented team."
