Shaun The Sheep (lost pilot of British stop-motion TV series; early to mid 2000s): Difference between revisions
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In 1995, the character Shaun | In 1995, the character Shaun the Sheep made his debut in Aardman Animatons' ''Wallace & Gromit'' short "A Close Shave". Like its predecessors it was produced entirely using the studio's signature hand-built stop-motion animation and proved to be a great success, winning an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film the same year. | ||
Aardman soon realized they had a breakout star on their hands in Shaun, the intelligent but mischevious young leader of a flock of sheep that prove invaluable to Wallace over the course of the short. With Shaun's merchandise sales surpassing that of the leads, the decision to create a spin-off series was the natural next step.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3684150.stm BBC news article announcing the ''Shaun the Sheep'' TV series.] Retrieved 24 Sep '22</ref>At some point in the early 2000s, after production wrapped on ''Chicken Run'' and before it began on ''Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'', '''a pilot was made to pitch the series to broadcasters''', | |||
== | ==Production== | ||
Not much is known about the pilot's production save that it was evidently keyed to a somewhat lower budget than the final series, using smaller and less detailed sets and missing the framing device of the Farmer and his sheepdog Bitzer. From their appearance it seems that Shaun and the flock's models from "A Close Shave" were recycled - with the exception of Shirley - originally just 'the big fat sheep' - the only character who would move unchanged from the pilot to the series. | |||
==Availability== | ==Availability== | ||
This pitch pilot, like most such, was never aired on television or given any kind of official release. In 2004, the pilot was shown to the BBC, who would greenlight the series for production and airing on their spinoff channel for children, CBBC.<ref>[https://bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/09_september/23/shaun.shtml Second BBC News article on the ''Shaun the Sheep'' TV series.] Retrieved 24 Sep '22</ref> That same year various articles would be published by the BBC showing the only currently available screenshot from the pilot. | |||
On April 17th, 2007, an article was posted on an Aardman exhibition featuring images of unseen material from ''Shaun The Sheep'', including one evidently from the pilot. Whether the film itself was shown at the exhibition is unknown.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/surrey/6564499.stm BBC News article announcing the Aardman with material from the show.] Retrieved 24 Sep '22</ref> | |||
In 2005, a fire broke out at Aardman's storage warehouse, destroying many of the delicate production props (excluding those from ''The Curse of The Were-Rabbit'', which were either on tour or at Aardman's offices). This likely included the props from the ''Shaun'' pilot. Fortunately the master production tapes of all Aardman films remained safe in a separate location, meaning the pilot film most likely remains in Aardman's archives. | |||
In May of 2022, concept art of Shirley was released on the official ''Shaun the Sheep'' Twitter account, which further revealed that the concept artist for the pilot was Sylvia Bull.<ref>[https://twitter.com/shaunthesheep/status/1531591326671769600/photo/1 Shaun the Sheep Twitter post on the pilot's concept art.] Retrieved 25 Sep '22</ref> A Twitter user called Random Sheep claimed to be the voice of one of the background sheep in the pilot; they also revealed Shirley's original nickname, which they assumed was changed to avoid negative stereotyping.<ref>[https://twitter.com/randomovine/status/1115877722763534336 A tweet from a user that voiced one of the sheep in the pilot.] Retrieved 25 Sep '22</ref> | |||
==Gallery== | ==Gallery== | ||
Revision as of 02:38, 1 October 2022
A screenshot supposedly from the pilot.
Status: Lost
In 1995, the character Shaun the Sheep made his debut in Aardman Animatons' Wallace & Gromit short "A Close Shave". Like its predecessors it was produced entirely using the studio's signature hand-built stop-motion animation and proved to be a great success, winning an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film the same year.
Aardman soon realized they had a breakout star on their hands in Shaun, the intelligent but mischevious young leader of a flock of sheep that prove invaluable to Wallace over the course of the short. With Shaun's merchandise sales surpassing that of the leads, the decision to create a spin-off series was the natural next step.[1]At some point in the early 2000s, after production wrapped on Chicken Run and before it began on Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, a pilot was made to pitch the series to broadcasters,
Production
Not much is known about the pilot's production save that it was evidently keyed to a somewhat lower budget than the final series, using smaller and less detailed sets and missing the framing device of the Farmer and his sheepdog Bitzer. From their appearance it seems that Shaun and the flock's models from "A Close Shave" were recycled - with the exception of Shirley - originally just 'the big fat sheep' - the only character who would move unchanged from the pilot to the series.
Availability
This pitch pilot, like most such, was never aired on television or given any kind of official release. In 2004, the pilot was shown to the BBC, who would greenlight the series for production and airing on their spinoff channel for children, CBBC.[2] That same year various articles would be published by the BBC showing the only currently available screenshot from the pilot.
On April 17th, 2007, an article was posted on an Aardman exhibition featuring images of unseen material from Shaun The Sheep, including one evidently from the pilot. Whether the film itself was shown at the exhibition is unknown.[3]
In 2005, a fire broke out at Aardman's storage warehouse, destroying many of the delicate production props (excluding those from The Curse of The Were-Rabbit, which were either on tour or at Aardman's offices). This likely included the props from the Shaun pilot. Fortunately the master production tapes of all Aardman films remained safe in a separate location, meaning the pilot film most likely remains in Aardman's archives.
In May of 2022, concept art of Shirley was released on the official Shaun the Sheep Twitter account, which further revealed that the concept artist for the pilot was Sylvia Bull.[4] A Twitter user called Random Sheep claimed to be the voice of one of the background sheep in the pilot; they also revealed Shirley's original nickname, which they assumed was changed to avoid negative stereotyping.[5]
Gallery
Concept art of Shirley made for the pilot by Sylvia Bull.
References
- ↑ BBC news article announcing the Shaun the Sheep TV series. Retrieved 24 Sep '22
- ↑ Second BBC News article on the Shaun the Sheep TV series. Retrieved 24 Sep '22
- ↑ BBC News article announcing the Aardman with material from the show. Retrieved 24 Sep '22
- ↑ Shaun the Sheep Twitter post on the pilot's concept art. Retrieved 25 Sep '22
- ↑ A tweet from a user that voiced one of the sheep in the pilot. Retrieved 25 Sep '22