Shaun the Sheep goes solo as he dumps Wallace and Gromit to star in his own film



Children's character to get his own film after TV series success

Will be made by Wallace and Gromit studio Aardman Animations



The loveable children's character already has a huge following of his television show around the world.

So there is no doubt fans will be flocking to see him star in his own film, Shaun the Sheep - The Movie.



Shaun was first seen in the Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit short film A Close Shave.

Shaun the Sheep - The Movie will be made by Aardman Animations, the British studio behind Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run

In the film he, his sheepdog friend Bitzer and their farmyard firiends will head into the city on an 'epic adventure' to rescue their farmer after he is taken away from Mossybottom Farm as a result of their mischief.

The children's television programme Shaun the Sheep is aired in 170 countries and has a spin-off for younger children called Timmy Time.

The TV show features the voices of the likes of children's TV star Justin Fletcher, with a theme tune sung by Vic Reeves, but it has not yet been revealed who will voice the film.

Bristol-based Aardman Animations will make the film in collaboration with French company StudioCanal, which is providing financing and distribution.

David Sproxton, executive chairman of Aardman, said: 'Shaun and his friends have a massive global following and we are very excited about being able to put them into a bigger adventure for the big screen.'

Aardman has already seen huge success with a series of Wallace and Gromit short films made by animator Nick Park, featuring Wallace, a bumbling inventor from Wigan with a fondness for cheese, and his long-suffering dog Gromit.

The Shaun the Sheep television series is shown in 170 countries around the world



Animator Nick Park created Shaun the Sheep as a character in his short Wallace and Gromit film A Close Shave

Park won Oscars in 1991 for A Grand Day Out, 1994 for The Wrong Trousers and 1996 for A Close Shave - where Shaun first appeared as a character.



The studio has also produced the feature-length 2005 film Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit - which won a BAFTA for Best British Film - as well as Chicken Run and Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists!

Shaun the Sheep - The Movie will be co-written and directed by Mark Burton and Richard Starzak. Burton co-wrote the Curse of the Were-Rabbit screenplay with Park and Steve Box, while Starzak is series creator for the television show.

It is expected to be released in early 2015, while the fourth series of the television show out in early 2014.

In 2005, Aardman's Bristol warehouse was obliterated by fire, destroying more than 30 years of animation materials.

Aardman studios has already seen big-screen success with Chicken Run in 2000 and The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists! in 2011



The plasticine models of Wallace and Gromit, as well as Morph, the Lurpak Butter man and characters from Chicken Run were reduced to ashes.

More than 90 fireman took hours to bring the fire under control. It started just hours after the Curse of the Were-Rabbit opened in the U.S. to rave reviews.

But Park tried to play down the disaster by comparing it to a Pakistani earthquake which took place around the same time.

He said: 'Even though it is a precious and nostalgic collection and valuable to the company, in light of other tragedies, today isn't a big deal.'