Aardman Animations - the studio behind Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit - is running out of clay.
According to The Telegraph, Newclay Products, the factory that produces the specific clay used by the studio shut down in March. Now the studio only has enough clay for one more film.
The specific clay, called 'Lewis Newplast' has been used by Aardman since the early 1970s, and despite buying all of the factories remaining stock, it's not enough for the studio to keep producing the films we love.
Valerie Dearing, one of the directors of Newclay Products, said: "Aardman bought a lot of our remaining stock of Newplast to keep them going. They got what they said was two years' worth. It came to about 40 boxes, which must have been around 400kg."
The reason for the factory's closing is the retirement of its directors. Paul Dearing explained "we ran the business for 16 years and it was thriving, but we couldn't find anyone who wanted to take over the firm after we retired so we sold off everything."
However the Dearings were proud of their company's legacy. "To look back and think that all those wonderful character they created were made without clay and that our company was such a key part of the artistic process, we're very proud of it," Paul said.
Thankfully this didn't interrupt the creation of their latest film, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nuggets, which is released on Netflix on December 15.
Now, Aardman is on the hunt for a replacement clay that can sustain hot studio lights whilst being malleable enough to create the studio's iconic characters.
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