If you’re an animation buff, no doubt you’ve heard of Aardman Animations. This British studio may not be as massive or well-known as Pixar or Studio Ghibli, but Aardman’s animators have been churning out unique shorts and feature-length films for over 40 years now. With Shaun the Sheep Movie – about a bored sheep who goes to the big city -- coming to theaters, we take a look at the development of this studio and its important role.

Aardman Studios was originally formed in 1972 by producer-directors Peter Lord and David Sproxton with the goal of one day creating a feature-length animated film. It would be a while before that dream was realized, however. For many years, Lord and Sproxton primarily worked on short-form projects, with some of their earliest work airing on the BBC children’s show Vision On. They also animated the opening sequence to the TV series The Great Egg Race and developed music videos for Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” and Nina Simone’s “My Baby Just Cares for Me.”

Aardman’s use of stop-motion animation and Claymation distinguished them early on. It was with the creation of the anthropomorphic clay character Morph that Aardman began to hone its unique sense of style and storytelling. More recurring characters joined the Aardman lineup, including Wallace and Gromit. The comical, cheese-loving inventor and his silent but highly intelligent dog remain the most iconic of Aardman’s many creations.

The studio began earning more acclaim in the 1980s and '90s, expanding its facilities and bringing in more animators. Nick Park became a key figure in the development of Aardman alongside Lord and Sproxton. Park’s 1989 animated short Creature Comforts became the first Aardman project to win an Academy Award. Two Wallace & Gromit shorts, 1993’s The Wrong Trousers and 1995’s A Close Shave, also earned Academy Awards.

These successes led to a partnership between Aardman and Dreamworks Animation in 1997, wherein the latter would cofinance and distribute Chicken Run, Aardman’s first feature-length animated project. Chicken Run eventually hit theaters in 2000 to considerable critical and commercial success. Nearly three decades after forming Aardman, Lord and Sproxton finally achieved their dream.

After a failed attempt to adapt the popular fable The Tortoise and the Hare, Aardman finally returned to theaters in 2005 with Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. The first full-length Wallace & Gromit film also proved to be a big success for the studio.

Aardman’s third theatrical release, Flushed Away, also marked its first foray into computer animation instead of its trademark stop-motion technique. Unfortunately, Flushed Away wasn’t quite as well received as previous efforts. DreamWorks terminated its relationship with Aardman in 2007, with both studios citing “creative differences.” At this point Aardman was also reeling from a devastating fire in 2005 that destroyed many of the studio’s old models and props.

Luckily, things quickly picked up for the studio, as it entered into a new arrangement with Sony Pictures in 2007 to finance and distribute new theatrical films. The first fruit of that arrangement was 2011’s Arthur Christmas, which again saw Aardman dabble in computer animation (this time to greater critical acclaim). The following year saw the release of The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists (known outside of the U.K. as The Pirates! Band of Misfits). Here Aardman used computer animation to replicate its distinctive Claymation style, effectively blending the old and new.

Aardman has also become increasingly Internet savvy in recent years. In 2008, the studio debuted an official YouTube channel featuring classic shorts from series like Creature Comforts, Cracking Contraptions and Morph and clips from various Wallace & Gromit projects. In 2013, Lord turned to Kickstarter in order to secure funding for a new series of Morph shorts animated in the traditional stop-motion style. The fundraising was successful, and the final of these 12 brand-new Morph shorts was released in March 2015.

More than 40 years after its formation, Aardman Animations shows no sign of slowing down. The studio continues to pursue various short-length projects in addition to the upcoming release of Shaun the Sheep (a spin-off character from the Wallace & Gromit franchise who has starred in a number of shorts films of his own). The studio’s next feature-length project, Early Man, is expected in 2018.

The enduring popularity of Aardman Animations proves that not all animation has to be done on a massive scale with huge expense. While Hollywood studios struggle to compete with Pixar and DreamWorks’ animated fare, Aardman continues to deliver a steady stream of long and short-form projects with an impressive track record. The studio has developed and honed a distinctive voice, characterized both by its love of stop-motion animation and its unique sense of humor.

Aardman may have been shaped by Lord and Sproxton, but the studio has become bigger than any one animator. Its films have a unique sense of style and cohesive vision regardless of director. In that way, it's like the U.K.’s answer to Japan's legendary Studio Ghibli. It’s tough to give a bigger compliment than that.