Aardman Animation – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

April 28, 2022

Wallace & Gromit Are Going on a VR Adventure in 2023

Aardman’s beloved characters Wallace and Gromit will be making a return to the world of XR gaming the animation company has announced today. Working with Atlas V (Battlescar, Madrid Noir, Gloomy Eyes) and Meta, Wallace & Gromit: The Grand Getaway will be coming to Meta Quest 2 next year.

First reported by Variety, Wallace & Gromit: The Grand Getaway will be a brand-new adventure for the duo where they plan to go on holiday. As you might expect things don’t exactly go according to plan.

“Wallace has his dates mixed up – they have to be on the other side of the country in just half an hour!” explains the synopsis. “There’s only one thing for it… they’ll take the Rocket. But a mishap with the controls sends Wallace, Gromit and Auto-Caddy hurtling off course. Will this be a holiday to remember?” Currently, no gameplay details have been released, but with Meta funding the project and Atlas V working with London’s No Ghost and Albyon in Lyon it’s going to be a high quality production

“The entire studio is so excited about this project, which provides us with a perfect opportunity to do what we love – combining memorable characters and engaging storytelling with emerging technologies to offer fans a totally immersive experience,” said Sean Clarke, Managing Director of Aardman in a statement. “For loyal fans of Wallace & Gromit, this will be real wish-fulfilment territory – after watching the characters on screen for decades, they will now have an opportunity to step into their world and play an active role in this new story as it unfolds. For those new to the characters, it’s the ultimate way to get to know them, the humour, and the hijinks that have made them so popular.”

Wallace & Gromit - The Big Fix Up — Wallace & Gromit – The Big Fix Up

Plus, Ben Whitehead will return as the voice of Wallace having taken over from the late Peter Sallis.

“It was challenging for all of us to come together to reach the level of expectations and standards that such an IP demands, but we are convinced that the fans of Wallace & Gromit and the VR community will experience amazing immersive adventures by interacting with these two much-loved characters,” Antoine Cayrol & Arnaud Colinart, Producers and co-founders at Atlas V commented.

Wallace and Gromit’s last big immersive experience was The Big Fix Up, an augmented reality (AR) title where players had to help fix up the duo’s home town of Bristol, UK.

As further details for Wallace & Gromit: The Grand Getaway are released, gmw3 will let you know.

January 18, 2021

Wallace & Gromit’s AR Adventure ‘The Big Fix Up’ Out Now

Last year Aardman Animations and Fictioneers announced that beloved duo Wallace & Gromit would be making their way into augmented reality (AR). Today, Wallace & Gromit: The Big Fix Up has arrived for mobile devices so that players can help fix up the duo’s home town of Bristol, UK.

Providing a narrative-driven experience with AR gameplay, Wallace & Gromit: The Big Fix Up is their first new adventure in a decade. The iconic characters have started a new business venture, Spick & Spanners, and you’re the company’s new employee.

Wallace & Gromit: The Big Fix Up is voiced by award-winning British actors including Miriam Margolyes and Jim Carter with Ben Whitehead playing Wallace. The AR app can be used both at home or outside to aid the pair, with in-character phone calls, extended reality (XR) portals, and comic strips all part of the experience.

“We are really excited to launch The Big Fix Up, the first release from our new Fictioneers studio. We believe it’s a first-of-its-kind experience, part of our vision to harness multiple technologies, media types and formats to tell enhanced, collaborative and immersive stories in real-time,” said Scott Ewings, Venture Lead at Potato and co-founder of Fictioneers in a statement. “With The Big Fix Up, we have created a new, rich and multi-layered experience, where, for the first time ever, YOU can become part of Wallace & Gromit’s story. This will be the first of many releases using the Fictioneers platform.”

“Wallace & Gromit have innovation, gadgets, and technology at the comedic heart of their world. Working with Fictioneers to create The Big Fix Up has been a perfect fit, allowing us to bring the duo’s fantastic fictional contraptions right into our audiences homes using the latest real technology,” adds Merlin Crossingham, Creative Director of Wallace & Gromit at Aardman.

Fictioneers is a collaboration between Potato, Sugar Creative and Tiny Rebel Games. The group used 3D mapping platform Fantasmo to bring Bristol’s city centre to life as well as Unity’s AR Foundation toolkit.

Wallace & Gromit: The Big Fix Up is freely available now on iOS and Android devices in the UK, US and Canada. For further updates from Fictioneers about its latest immersive content, keep reading VRFocus.

June 30, 2020

Aardman Unveils A Star-Studded Voice Cast for Wallace & Gromit’s AR Adventure

Later this year award-winning studio Aardman will launch Wallace & Gromit’s first foray into augmented reality (AR) with The Big Fix Up. Today, the studio alongside collaborator Fictioneers have announced the voice cast for the upcoming adventure, as well as a couple of new images.

Bringing the AR experience to life will be award-winning British actors Miriam Margolyes OBE and Jim Carter OBE. Margolyes – known for her work playing Professor Sprout in Harry Potter as well as numerous TV and theatre roles – takes the role of BERYL: the Spick & Spanner’s AI bot.

While Carter (Downton Abbey, Shakespeare in Love) will play puffed pie magnate and millionaire, Bernard Grubb. The cast will also include Isy Suttie as the young Lily Hackerby who: “has won the investment of a certain Bernard Grubb who quickly takes the quiet coder under his ample wing,” explains a press release.

Wallace and Gromit: The Big Fix Up will also feature a real person for the first time; Clarissa Kent. A journalist after that big story, she’ll be played by 25 year-old newcomer, Grace Ahmed.

“Delighted to welcome this wonderful voice cast to Wallace & Gromit’s new augmented reality world! I look forward to meeting their characters this Autumn in The Big Fix Up adventure,” said Creator of Wallace & Gromit, Nick Park in a statement.

“We’re delighted with our line-up of characters voiced by some of the best in British talent,” adds Dan Clemo, Co-Founder of Sugar Creative (a co-founder of Fictioneers). “We knew the casting would be incredibly important to get right, and the way in which they’ve given our characters life in this new and exciting way of storytelling is truly wonderful.”

The Big Fix Up sees the duo embark on their latest business venture, Spick & Spanners to ‘Fix Up’ their home town of Bristol. In the mobile app players will be able to work together to aid the pair whilst enjoying in character phone calls, comic strips and more, all from the comfort of home.

Wallace & Gromit: The Big Fix Up is due to launch in the UK this Autumn on iOS and Android devices. For further updates, keep reading VRFocus.

May 26, 2020

Wallace & Gromit’s Next Adventure Will be in AR

Iconic duo Wallace & Gromit have been delighting audiences for decades, thanks to Aardman’s excellent stop motion clay animation and British humour. Today, it has been revealed that the pair will be stepping into augmented reality (VR) later this year with Wallace & Gromit: The Big Fix Up.

The AR title is set to offer a brand new window into the world of Wallace & Gromit as they embark on their latest business venture, Spick & Spanners. They take on a contract to fix up Bristol – the home of Aardman – with players able to join in at home as employees.

Wallace & Gromit: The Big Fix Up will include a variety of content, from multi-user AR gameplay and new CG animations to in character phone calls, comic strips and Extended Reality (XR) portals. It’s all designed to be enjoyed at home, so you can see Bristol city centre come to life in your living room care of 3D mapping platform, Fantasmo.

Created in partnership with Fictioneers; a consortium of British companies including Potato, Sugar Creative and Tiny Rebel Games, the project was made thanks to funding from UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) as part of its Audience of the Future program.

“Aardman is a multi-faceted creative studio and is just as happy with classic film making as it is with new and emerging technologies. Wallace and Gromit’s heart and soul is in stop motion, but they have often dabbled in the cutting-edge of tech, and this is one of those occasions,” said Aardman’s Merlin Crossingham, Creative Director of Wallace & Gromit in a statement. “We are delighted to join forces with the amazing folk at Fictioneers to take Wallace and Gromit on a new adventure in such a groundbreaking way.”

Initially, the free mobile app for Android and iOS devices will get a UK launch in the Autumn with plans to roll out Wallace & Gromit: The Big Fix Up globally to follow.

This isn’t Aardman’s first foray into immersive tech as the company previously teamed up with Google Spotlight Stories for a short interactive film called Special Delivery.

As further details on Wallace & Gromit: The Big Fix Up are released, VRFocus will let you know.