Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends Exhibition at the Young V&A
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Aardman, Young V&A in Bethnal Green opened an interactive exhibition that not just lets you peek behind the scenes of stop motion animation, but shows the whole process from start to finish and teaches you how to create your own animation film at home.
Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends exhibition is now open.
Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends exhibition is a family-friendly exhibition designed to spark creativity and showcase all the techniques one needs to create their own animation film with lovable characters to inspire the next generation of storytellers, model-makers and animators.
Photo: Urban Adventurer
The exhibition is full of iconic and inspiring items, including storyboards and early character sketches of well-loved characters like Gromit and Morph.
In these early sketches of Wallace and Gromit, Wallace was a postman wearing moustache and Gromit could talk. However, Nick Park realised that Gromit was actually more expressive as a silent character.
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Originally, Wallace had an oval face but that changed when Peter Sallis recorded his lines. They realised that when Peter said ‘Cheeeeeese’, his mouth stretched out, so the animators gave Wallace a big cheesy grin.
Did you know that some of the most famous Aardman characters come in duos? That’s because pairing together odd couples leads to all sorts of fun.
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There are over 150 items on display, including never-before-seen set pieces from your favourite films, including the sidecar from Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget and The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!
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The mammoth puppet from Early Man (2018) is the largest and heaviest puppet Aardman have ever made. Hydraulics were built into its legs so that they could support the weight and the puppet was still able to move. That mammoth is also on display at the exhibition.
Stop-Motion Animation – Just How Aardman Do It!
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The exhibition is not just for the eyes, but also for the hands.
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There are touchable characters on display, interactive corners and workshops where anyone can learn how to draw characters, sketch storyboards, set the right lighting and move the characters in front of the camera.
Photo: Urban Adventurer
If you’re interested in stop-motion animation – or any particular part of the process – you can learn everything. Just how Aardman do it!
Aardman Studios started with some school friends experimenting with stop motion, literally, on the kitchen table.
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Even though Aardman is one of the most successful animation studios in the world, their films and characters still have that handcrafted feel. You can literally see fingerprints on the characters as the animators touched them and move them frame by frame. And that exactly that makes Aardman animation films unique and completely different from other stop motion animation films.
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Aardman films bring the clay into life and techniques can be easily learn and created at home with minimal resources.
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The exhibition also teaches that sometimes ordinary scenery, such as the street you grew up, can became the ideal scene for a film.
Nick Park, the creator of Wallace and Gromit was born in Preston, Lancashire and he took inspiration from the streets nearby and the community he grew up in.
You Can Go Back As Many Times As You Wish With Your Ticket
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Unlike other exhibitions where you have to do it all in one go, your ticket to the Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends exhibition allows you to come back any time you wish!
Did you like it so much, you wish you could visit again? Did you miss something and want to go to check it one more time? Are you working on your own project and need a reminder on how to do a specific thing?
Your ticket remains valid throughout the whole exhibition period until the 15th November 2026 to revisit the exhibition and do the activities any time and as many times you like.
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TIP: Make sure you visit the café downstairs before or after the exhibition and try their Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep cupcakes!
Aardman Merch
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Your exhibition journey ends at the shop where you can find a huge range of Aardman merch, including plushies, creative playsets, stationery, pin badges, mugs and so much more.
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Don’t miss the selfie corner right next to the shop! Sit on Wallace’s iconic sofa, grab a frame and take a fun selfie with your bestie, your kids or just yourself.
Practical Info
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Address
Young V&A | Cambridge Heath Rd, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PA
(Nearest station is Bethnal Green station)
Opening Times
12th February – 15th November 2026
Open daily between 10am – 5:45pm
Tickets
Tickets can be purchased on Young V&A’s official website
Adult ticket: £12.50 with donation | £11 without donation
3 years and under: FREE
Tickets selling fast!
You can re-visit the exhibition with the same ticket as many times as you wish until 15th November 2026!
Ready for your next adventure? Mundo PIXAR Experience is finally open! Expect 14 vibrant immersive rooms with your favourite characters from Toy Story, Coco, Cars, Inside Out and more. Plus, there is a special room designed just for the London audience. Tickets selling fast!
