Aardman, Decode team up for sketch show

MIPCOM NEWS: Wallace & Gromit prodco Aardman Animation of Bristol has been commissioned by the UK’s CiTV to produce a new animated comedy series, a coproduction with Canada’s Decode Entertainment.

The Sketch Show (13×11′) has been ordered by CiTV boss Steven Andrew and Madeleine Levesque at Canada’s Teletoon channel. It follows the escapades of characters like the Soppy Street Rappers, Bickering Babes, Nose-picker, Ninja Handyman and Dr Inosaur – billed as “a quirky collection of madcap characters”.

“An animated sketch show will be a first for UK kids and we have every confidence that they’ll love these wonderful characters and comic scenes,” said the editor of CITV, Estelle Hughes.The new series will offer “a rapid fire, high energy broken comedy format for the 6-11 age group,” said a Decode rep. It will mix 2D Flash and cgi techniques.

The Sketch Show also marks Aardman’s first international coproduction. Since The Adventures of Morph back in 1980, Aardman has made TV specials and movies such as Wallace & Gromit, feature film Chicken Run and the Creature Comforts series for ITV. Shaun the Sheep, a character from the Wallace specials, has recently been commissioned to star in his own 40-part BBC show.