Stop-Motion Animation

February 25 2026

Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends Exhibition at the Young V&A

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Celebrating the 50^th 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.

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[BLOG POST IN BIO] 𝙄𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝘼𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙢𝙖𝙣: 𝙒𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 & 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 It’s a family-friendly exhibition designed to spark creativity and inspire the next generation of storytellers, model-makers and animators 💡 What to expect: • Original puppets and props used in iconic films • Never-before-seen objects • Early character concepts and storyboards • The exhibition shows how to make stop motion animation films step by step • Touchable elements • Interactive panels • Photo ops • Shop with tons of Aardman merch 📍 Where Young V&A | Cambridge Heath Rd, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PA (Nearest station is Bethnal Green station) 📆 When 12th February – 15th November 2026 🕰️ Open daily between 10am – 5:45pm 🎟️ Tickets can be purchased on Young V&A’s official website 🥳 You can re-visit the exhibition with the same ticket as many times as you wish until 15th November 2026 @Aardman #aardmananimations #wallaceandgromit #stopmotionanimation #chickenrun

♬ Wallace and Gromit Main Theme (From “Wallace and Gromit”) – Geek Music

Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends

Animation Scene from Wallace and Gromit - Inside Aardman- Wallace & Gromit and Friends Exhibition at the Young V&A

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.

Photo: Urban Adventurer

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.

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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.

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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 15^th 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

12^th February – 15^th 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 15^th 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!

August 18 2024

LAIKA: Frame x Frame Exhibition

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Award-winning animation studio, LAIKA, have opened a free exhibition at BFI Southbank. The exhibition invites its visitors for an incredible journey behind the scenes of five much-loved stop-motion animation films, including ‘Coraline’ and ‘The Box Trolls’.

Stop Motion: Celebrating Handmade Animation on the Big Screen

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BFI Southbank is celebrating the magic of stop-motion animation with a series of events this August.

‘Stop Motion: Celebrating Handmade Animation on the Big Screen’ is an event series featuring special screenings, Q&As with directors, and other events, including a free exhibition co-presented by LAIKA studio.

LAIKA is the award-winning stop-motion animation studio behind the much-loved and intricately gorgeous animated films, ‘Coraline’ (2009), ‘ParaNorman’ (2012), ‘The Box Trolls’ (2014), ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ (2016) and ‘Missing Link’ (2019).

LAIKA: Frame x Frame exhibition features over 700 puppets, costumes, and awe-inspiring props, complete movie sets, and a life-size reproduction of the illuminating garden from ‘Coraline’.

The exhibition showcases never-seen-before props and storyboards, as well as video clips to highlight the painstaking work behind the boundary-pushing art and creativity that go into the making of one single frame of a stop-motion film (one second in the film takes at least 24 individual shots)

LAIKA: Frame x Frame exhibition is split into five sections, each showcasing an iconic film.

Coraline

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[BLOG POST IN BIO] Award-winning animation studio, @LAIKA Studios , have opened a free exhibition in co-operation with @BFI LAIKA: Frame x Frame exhibition invites its visitors for an incredible journey behind the scenes of five much-loved stop-motion animation films, including ‘Coraline’ 🪡 and ‘The Box Trolls’ 📦 Over 700 puppets, costumes, awe-inspiring props, and a life-size reproduction of the illuminating garden from ‘Coraline’ 🌺 📍BFI Southbank | 0 Belvedere Rd, London SE1 8XT 📆 Until 1 October 2024 🎟️ Free but need to book a time slot #laikastudios #coraline #stopmotion #stopmotionanimation #kuboandthetwostrings #paranorman #coralinemovie #coralinejones #exhibition #CapCut

♬ End Credits – Bruno Coulais & The Children’s Choir Of Nice

The exhibition starts with a life-size replica of Coraline’s illuminating garden where you have the opportunity to take amazing selfies.

Stepping into the next room, you’ll find yourself surrounded with puppets and props used in the film. You’ll find all the main characters from Coraline’s real world and the other world.

Make sure you pull out the drawers underneath the shelves to reveal more props, drawings, storyboards, and costumes.

Photo: Urban Adventurer

In the drawers, there are all the illuminating flowers used in the film, the ghost children’s eyes and Coraline’s other mother’s hand-painted heads and faces.

Photo: Urban Adventurer

LAIKA was one of the first stop-motion studios to introduce rapid prototype for replacement animation. Rapid prototyping (RP) means that a group of artists and engineers use computer modelling software to create 3D models. Those models are then sent to 3D printers to produce physical objects.

Each of the series of rapid prototype assets from ‘Coraline’ is meticulously hand-painted to get the final look you see in the movie.

Photo: Urban Adventurer

A complete scene from ‘Coraline’ is on display with the original mantis tractor, the bridge of the other garden, the illuminating pumpkins, Coraline’s other dad with his button eyes and monkey slippers and Coraline herself.

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Make sure you don’t miss Coraline’s fully furnished bedroom in the other world right at the entrance on the left hand side.

ParaNorman, The Box Trolls, Kubo and the Two Strings & Missing Link

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The next sections are showcasing puppets and props from LAIKA’s other famous stop-motion films: ‘ParaNorman’, ‘The Box Trolls’, ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ and ‘Missing Link’.

@urbanadventurerldn

🎞️ [BLOG POST IN BIO] LAIKA: Frame x Frame exhibition’s next sections are showcasing puppets and props from other famous stop-motion films: ‘ParaNorman’, ‘The Box Trolls’, ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ and ‘Missing Link’. 🎞️ There are amazing large-scale artworks on display from each film, along with smaller props, costumes and prototypes, including zombie hands and heads from ‘ParaNorman’ and incredibly lifelike food from ‘The Box Trolls’ @LAIKA Studios @BFI #laikastudios #stopmotionanimation #stopmotion #kubo #boxtrolls #paranorman #bfisouthbank #exhibition #laikaframexframe #CapCut

♬ Labyrinth of Dreams – Nox Arcana

Each section is packed full of wonder.

There are amazing large-scale artworks on display from each film, along with smaller props, costumes and prototypes, including zombie hands and heads from ‘ParaNorman’ and incredibly lifelike food from ‘The Box Trolls’.

Photo: Urban Adventurer

There is a large display showcasing the market scene from Kubo and we learn how the team at LAIKA explored traditional Japanese origami and folding techniques to move them into digital modelling and turn them into 3D rapid prototypes that they later used for digitally enhanced animation.

There is also a purpose-built 5D camera on display that LAIKA uses to shoot still images that come together to make up a film.

Photo: Urban Adventurer

The Pullman train car set from ‘Missing Link’ is also on display at the last section of the exhibition. The purpose-built train has movable panels to give full flexibility and lots of space for animators to work.

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LAIKA: Frame x Frame exhibition ends with an enchanted garden to give us a sneak peek into the studio’s upcoming stop-motion film: ‘Wildwood’.

‘Wildwood’ will be released in 2025.

Practical Info

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Address

BFI Southbank | Belvedere Rd, London SE1 8XT

Opening Times

12 August – 1 October 2024

The exhibition is CLOSED on Mondays except for 12 and 19 August.

CLOSED all day on 20 AUGUST!

Tickets

FREE | Booking required on BFI Southbank official website

Ready for your next adventure? There is a cute little Studio Ghibli-themed bubble tea shop near Elephant & Castle station.