Aardman Animations Reviews

My time at Aardman was thoroughly unpleasant and demoralising, unlike anything else I've experienced within the industry. I felt as if I had been set up to fail from the start, and that my managers took a dislike to me from the beginning. I assume this was because I was new to the studio, or because I was hired by someone else who left before I started. Initially I was ignored and not introduced to other members of the team or invited to meetings. Numerous dismissive and rude comments from my manager made me feel that I was not taken seriously or seen as a valid member of the team, and that I had to constantly prove that I deserved to be there. As another review on this site mentioned, any concerns I had were ignored and the attitude was that I shouldn't complain and should be happy to be there because it's Aardman. I have spoken to numerous others whose experiences at Aardman were the same as mine, and the bullying culture was actually addressed in a company wide meeting shortly before I left. I hope this behaviour is stamped out quickly and not tolerated further so nobody else has to feel as belittled as I did by a company I once respected.

Incredibly cliquey and no room to move up the ladder - but this is old news and known throughout the industry. I have seen talented and kind individuals be fired because one person who has all their fingers in the pies doesn't like them. The runners are paid minimum wage for unholy contracted hours but they are happily expanding the company and give presentations on the millions they make. If they complain it's "you're lucky to be here" with the constant reminder of how many people apply. An old fuddy duddy studio with a tight production that won't even pay for Microsoft Word and refuses to adapt to the basic industry standards.