Sky Kids Orders Aardman’s The Very Small Creatures

Aardman has been commissioned by Sky Kids for The Very Small Creatures, a brand-new series for kids aged 1 to 3.

The Very Small Creatures is about five genderless, toddler-like clay creatures who explore a child’s play area when no one’s around. In each episode, Pink, Blue, Orange, Yellow and Green explore their surroundings and learn about the world around them, each other and themselves through play. The Very Small Creatures will launch on Sky Kids and NOW in November.

The themes of each episode relate to an aspect of toddlers’ lives—from learning about relationships, teamwork and empathy to understanding each other’s differences. Sky Kids has ordered 20×3-minute episodes of the series, which will be created using stop-motion animation and clay models, with the occasional graphic flourish. The Very Small Creatures marks the first new series Aardman has created for preschool children since Timmy Time, which was first broadcast in 2009.

The Very Small Creatures originated back in the early 1980s as a colorful childlike crowd that interacted with the classic Aardman character Morph. They feature in the latest series The Epic Adventures of Morph.

Director Lucy Izzard commented: “I am thrilled to have developed with Aardman this brand new stop motion pre-school series. It’s a show driven by five very cute clay creatures that act and behave like toddlers, learning about their physical world, themselves and each other. The themes for each episode relate to some aspect of toddlers’ lives with the focus on comedy and kindness. My two preschoolers have given me plenty of material to work from! I can’t wait to sit down on the sofa and show them the world they’ve inspired.”

Lucy Murphy, director of kids content for the U.K. and Republic of Ireland at Sky, added: “We are delighted to continue our collaboration with Aardman and commission The Very Small Creatures for the youngest members of our audience. We know how much kids enjoy the gentle, giggly creatures in Morph so we knew that they deserved a show of their very own and we are delighted with the warm, engaging world that Aardman has created for them.”