Aardman Animations and West Midland Safari Park have teamed up to create a themed event inspired by the studio’s latest film, Early Man.
The prehistoric comedy adventure from Academy Award® winning director, Nick Park, has formed the basis of the Safari Park’s ‘Find The Tribe’ Trail, as well as a ‘secret cave’ filled with exclusive exhibits from the film set.
Set at the dawn of time, Early Man tells how courageous caveman hero, Dug (Eddie Redmayne), and his best friend, Hognob, unite Dug’s tribe against arch-enemy, Lord Nooth (Tom Hiddleston) and his Bronze Age City, to save their home.
“We are delighted that West Midland Safari Park have taken the film to their hearts and are holding an ‘Early Man’ trail for their visitors to enjoy,” comments Sean Clarke, Head of Aardman Rights & Branded Development.
During February half-term, the Bewdley attraction will invite guests to follow clues along the interactive trail to find the rest of Dug’s tribe. Children who successfully complete the trail will take home an exclusive model-making kit.
Visitors to the park’s ‘Early Man Secret Cave’ will also have the chance to see some of the characters close up in a unique display of models from the film.
Model making workshops run by an Aardman expert
Those keen to try their hand at making models can take part in one of the model making workshops led by an expert from Aardman. There will be opportunities to ask questions and learn top tips from the model maker, after which they can take their creations home to their own ‘tribe’.
“We love to share our skills with others and we will be running workshops at the West Midland Safari Park to give fans of our work the chance to see how we create our wonderful characters,” adds Clarke.
“With our experienced model makers, our fans will learn exactly how much detail and effort goes into making each puppet, and they can have a go themselves. It’s a great way to spend a day!”
Using the latest stop-motion animation techniques, Aardman embarked on Early Man in the summer of 2016. A crew of over 100 animators devised the sets and characters for the film. The Early Man movie set is the studio’s largest to date.