“Wallace and Gromit,” the cult British stop-motion comedy franchise created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations, is set for a virtual reality makeover.
Aardman is partnering with meta Quest and Paris-based banner Atlas V to create an interactive, narrative-led, single player VR experience which will follow the new adventures of Wallace and Gromit.
Called “The Grand Getaway,” the VR experience will revolve around Wallace and Gromit’s holidays and will launch in 2023 in the Oculus Store for meta Quest. It will be available on meta Quest 2, a new VR headset enabling users to walk around, explore and get hands-on.
The project is a co-production between Aardman and Atlas V, the award-winning outfit behind upscale VR experiences such as “Spheres” and “Gloomy Eyes,” in association with No Ghost in London and Albyon in Lyon. It is funded by meta Quest.
Finbar Hawkins and Bram Ttwheam are co-directing for Aardman with the support of Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham, creative director of “Wallace & Gromit.”
Ben Whitehead will again voice Wallace, as he has done for previous “Wallace & Gromit” projects, following in the footsteps of the late Peter Sallis.
‘The Grand Getaway’ is the next step in Wallace and Gromit’s adventures in immersive spaces, following ‘The Big Fix Up’, which combined the latest in augmented and mixed reality in an epic real-time adventure.
“The entire studio is so excited about this project, which provides us with a perfect opportunity to do what we love – combining memorable characters and engaging storytelling with emerging technologies to offer fans a totally immersive experience,” said Sean Clarke, Aardman’s managing director.
“For loyal fans of ‘Wallace & Gromit,’ this will be real wish-fulfilment territory – after watching the characters on screen for decades, they will now have an opportunity to step into their world and play an active role in this new story as it unfolds,” added Clarke.
Antoine Cayrol and Arnaud Colinart, producers and co-founders at Atlas V, said their company was “aiming to work with renowned IP, in order to have more impact on the audience and touch more people.”
“It was challenging for all of us to come together to reach the level of expectations and standards that such an IP demands, but we are convinced that the fans of ‘Wallace & Gromit’ and the VR community will experience amazing immersive adventures by interacting with these two much-loved characters.”
Ryan Thomas, producer at meta Quest, said the “idea of interacting and being in the same room with these beloved characters that I grew up watching evokes a sense of nostalgia and wonder that we know meta Quest 2 owners will enjoy.” Thomas added it will be a “visually impressive, witty, and innovative immersive VR experience.”
