As one of the biggest franchises in the world, Pokémon is more than well-acquainted with collaborations and diversification, especially in recent years. The video game series has always been accompanied by an animated show and its various offshoots, including 2019’s live-action feature Detective Pikachu, but it was only earlier this year that fans got to bask in the stop-motion charm of Pokémon Concierge (with more to come!).
And it seems that’s only the beginning. In a surprise move, The Pokémon Company has joined forces with Aardman, the stop-motion animation studio behind Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run, for a mystery project due out sometime in 2027. Details are scant, howevever, and it’s unclear if the joint venture will be a film, TV series, or something else altogether.
What’s for certain is that fans can expect a taste of the latter’s craft and comedic approach, which serve as tenets for the forthcoming outing — and highly apt, too, considering the franchise’s lighthearted and kid-friendly nature.
“This is a dream partnership for Pokémon,” The Pokémon Company International’s VP of marketing and media Taito Okiura said. “Aardman are masters of their craft, and we have been blown away by their talent and creativity. What we have been working on together ensures our global Pokémon fans are in for a treat.”
“It’s a huge honour to be working with The Pokémon Company International — we feel sincerely privileged to be trusted with bringing their characters and world to life in a brand-new way,” added Sean Clarke, managing director of Aardman. “Bringing together Pokémon, the world’s biggest entertainment brand, together with our love of craft, character and comedic storytelling feels incredibly exciting. 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.”
The “special project” has no release date, though it should be noted that both companies have deals with Netflix. Pokémon Concierge aside, the streamer is also the exclusive distributor of CGI animated series Pokémon Horizons outside of Japan, and home to several Aardman works like last year’s Dawn of the Nugget, sequel to Chicken Run. It joins Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the as the highest-grossing stop-motion films of all time.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
