Pokémon announces an official collaboration with stop-motion animation studio Aardman

Pokémon has just announced a brand-new partnership with Aardman Animations, the legendary British studio behind several stop-motion classics, like Chicken Run, Shaun the Sheep and Wallace & Gromit.

The brief but charming trailer released alongside this announcement shows two red and white balls joining to form a stop-motion Pokéball, and it’s accompanied by a message that confirms this project is coming in 2027. Aardman revealed a bit more about this collaboration on its official website, with a statement that claims the studio is “bringing its unique style of storytelling to the Pokémon universe in brand-new adventures.”

Aardman’s managing director, Sean Clarke, stated that “Aardman and TPCi share an emphasis on heritage and attention to detail as well as putting our fans and audiences at the heart of what we do, which we know will steer us right as we together create charming, original and new stories for audiences around the world.” Lastly, The Pokémon Company’s vice president of marketing and media, Taito Okiura, said, “This is a dream partnership for Pokémon. Aardman are masters of their craft, and we have been blown away by their talent and creativity.”

So what are Pokémon & Aardman going to work together on?

Neither company has revealed whether they’re working on a show, a movie, a stop-motion video game, or something else entirely. The Pokémon IP is no stranger to stop-motion animation since Netflix released Pokémon Concierge in early 2024. While Dwarf Studios animated that show, it’s possible that Aardman may assist in the production of its second season.

However, it’s unlikely that The Pokémon Company would partner with an animation studio as prestigious and renowned as Aardman for something as minimal assistance on the second season of an existing show. Considering that TPCi has been further adapting its flagship IP into other forms of entertainment over the last few years, like live-action movies and TV shows, it’s possible that its project with Aardman may end up being way more ambitious than we initially thought.