Peter Lord and David Sproxton, co-founders of Aardman Animations, have revealed how they accidentally created Morph, shared a memorable encounter with Jack Nicholson at the Oscars, and built a 50-year partnership rooted in mutual respect and shared values. In a joint interview, the duo, who were knighted earlier this year, discussed their journey from teenage animators to leaders of an employee-owned studio.
From School Desks to Animation Pioneers
Lord and Sproxton met at school in Woking, Surrey, when Lord, then aged 12, sat next to Sproxton on his first day. 'There was only one spare seat in the class. It was next to Sproxton, brackets, DA,' Lord recalled. They also discovered they got off at the same train stop, Walton-on-Thames, which helped cement their friendship.
Their partnership began in earnest when Sproxton's father acquired a camera. 'We would sit around David's kitchen table and work away on ideas,' said Lord. During university holidays, they collaborated on animation projects, with Sproxton building sets and props while Lord crafted puppets. 'It was a partnership of mutual interdependence,' Lord noted.
The duo sold their first short, featuring a superhero called Aardman, to the BBC's Vision On in 1972. In 1977, they created Morph for the children's programme Take Hart, a character that emerged almost by accident. 'It was just a lump of Plasticine that turned into a little person and then developed over time as a character,' Lord explained. The success of Morph led to The Amazing Adventures of Morph, a series of 26 five-minute episodes.
Oscars, DreamWorks, and the Nicholson Encounter
Aardman's breakthrough into adult audiences came with Channel 4's Conversation Pieces series, and the studio's animators, including a young Nick Park, went on to create Wallace & Gromit, whose films have won multiple Academy Awards. Sproxton recalled the moment Creature Comforts won an Oscar in 1991 for best animated short: 'It was a huge moment, because the Brits didn't get many Oscars in those days.'
The ceremony in LA lasted five hours, with many ad breaks. 'I remember going to the gents during one break and turning around, thinking, “My God, I'm having a pee with Jack Nicholson,”' Sproxton said.
When Aardman partnered with DreamWorks for Chicken Run, Sproxton made a significant career decision. 'I had broadly said to Pete and Nick [Park], “You go and direct Chicken Run and I'll sort out everything else,”' he said. This decision took him away from day-to-day film production, and he admitted, 'I missed being on the studio floor. Did I tell Pete? Probably not at the time. It was the right thing to do, and I was doing it for all the right reasons.'
Shared Values and a Lasting Bond
Both founders emphasized that their partnership has thrived due to shared values. 'We both feel the same about the really important things: how you treat your people,' Lord said. 'It sounds cheesy, but we're not in it for the money, and never have been. I'm not saying we haven't made money. We have. I'm very happy. But we didn't want a yacht in the Maldives. My car is 20 years old. Dave's was even older when it finally packed up. Money has never been the motive. It's always been to make a community.'
Sproxton echoed this, noting the influence of his father, an ordained Congregational minister. 'There was a strong value system in place,' he said. The pair also found common ground in their upbringing: both fathers worked for the BBC, and both mothers taught art.
Their personal bond extends beyond work. Sproxton was best man at Lord's wedding, his brother was the photographer, and his father was the vicar. 'Faced with all the questions, the challenges of life and of running a company and of creative decisions, we've become each other's best ally against the world,' Lord said.
Employee Ownership and Legacy
Aardman became employee-owned in 2018, with Lord and Sproxton transferring majority ownership to staff to safeguard the company's independence. The studio's success has been marked by critical acclaim and commercial achievement, including the Wallace & Gromit films and Chicken Run. Both founders were knighted earlier this year, recognizing their contributions to animation and British culture.
Reflecting on their enduring partnership, Sproxton praised Lord's creative mind: 'He has got an incredible mind, and I am always asking myself: how do we make this stuff from his imagination actually happen? Really, that question is at the core of everything that I do.'
