Aardman Animations, the amazing UK team behind Wallace & Gromit, Creature Comforts and Chicken Run, has chosen to animate their next TV series in Flash. Little J, an 11-minute series, will be a collaboration with Jamie Oliver, the British celebrity chef.
According to the BBC News, the series will go back in time and follow a 10-year old Jamie as he fights off a mad scientist named Eggs Benedict and jams with his band The Vulgar Vegetables.
The Brothers McLeod, who recently premiered Fuggy Fuggy 2 here at CHF, have produced a two new shorts for the 2007 IPA Effectiveness Awards. Working through their rep’s Aardman Animations, Greg and Myles teamed up with MCBD, an ad agency in London to create 2 Flash-animated ‘viral’ shorts. Here is one titled Helen, which features an Advertising Planner with a planet sized brain.
Back in December of 2005, the Brothers McLeod teased us with a sneak peak at ‘The M Man.’ He’s their quirky Flash-animated superhero, who “embarks on a mission packed with paper mache barbeques and crop dusting equipment.”
It’s a staggered release, with part 1 out now, and parts 2 and 3 coming within the next 10 days.
You also know ‘Fuggy Fuggy,’ the Brothers McLeod’s hysterical pint-sized ninja who’s reportedly waiting in the wings with his own fresh installment (more info on that in a bit).
Aardman Animation may be the top dogs in claymation, but they’re now starting to flex their 2D muscle too. You may have noticed their Cartoon Category nomination at the 2006 Flashforward Film Festival, and last year, Aardman announced ‘Planet Sketch,’ a show animated in both Flash and CGI formats.
And now Aardman is moving forward on ‘Flowerheads,’ a Flash-animated show created and directed by Nick Mackie. Aimed at 2 and 3 year olds, ‘Flowerheads’ is planned as a series of 5-minutes cartoons, and according to an article over at C21 Media, the show is set to launch in 2007. I’ve found mentions of the project dating back to 2004, and further information on Nick Mackie’s personal website. Character designs can be found there as well, and I also spotted another Mackie project that was surely produced in Flash – ‘Cold Calling.’ It’s not unlike Comedy Central’s ‘Crank Yankers,’ with the animated phone conversations, and it’s also quite clever. Have a look at the two episodes Mackie has on his site – ‘Blind’ and ‘Gay Brian’ (mp4s).
‘Planet Sketch,’ Decode Entertainment’s co-production with Aardman Animation, has been picked up for the Latin American market by Cartoon Network. This CGI and Flash-animated show is already slated to air on Canada’s Teletoon and ITV in the UK. According to an article on the World Screen website, ‘Planet Sketch’ is targeted at the 7-11 year old market. The show is built a sketch-comedy program, and the Decode website adds that “sketches feature different characters, but the series is cohesive thanks to the design style and to the creation of a neighbourhood where the characters all live and operate.”
The ‘Planet Sketch’ website is now up, and it features several Flash models and short animated bits. It seems as if the show is predominantly CGI, but it’s still being billed as a hybrid production.
Aardman Animations, the amazing UK team behind Wallace & Gromit, Creature Comforts and Chicken Run, has chosen to animate their next TV series in Flash. Little J, an 11-minute series, will be a collaboration with Jamie Oliver, the British celebrity chef. 
but they’re now starting to flex their 2D muscle too. You may have noticed their Cartoon Category 
has been picked up for the Latin American market by 
