A Grand Success! is a cracking good business, life and animation book

Rare is the biography that matches the quality of something that we really enjoy. One glaring example of such rarity is Losing my Virginity by Richard Branson. That book was effortless to read, enjoyable at every turn and even manages to inspire jaded souls who could use a pick me up.  A Grand Success! The Aardman Journey, One Frame at a Time by Peter Lord and David Sproxton joins our list and will be on yours too for many different reasons.

A Grand Success! is the story of Aardman Animations, the legendary studio that’s brought the world Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run, Shaun the Sheep and Morph. This book follows Peter Lord and David Sproxton from their childhood inspiration, constantly changing (and enlarging) headquarters to the release of Shawn the Sheep: Farmageddon. We’re long time fans of all things Aardman and hoped to personally enjoy the book. However, after reading the book we’re even bigger fans due to the growth, history, they way they’ve conducted business and life lesson that the book passes along.

A Grand Success! is not preachy, it’s not that kind of life lesson. However, as with any entrepreneur; there are huge, massive sized risks that any venture has to make in order to succeed. Aardman started small with David and Peter doing small segments on British children’s programming. Morph is the brown creation on the front of the book that most people won’t recognize. I didn’t. It has that trademark Aardman warmth and love, but it doesn’t register any memories. However, it was his creation that helped usher in many of the great things that the company came to do. 

In the early 80’s Peter and David were getting steady gigs doing things for the BBC. At the same time they were invited by Nick Park to speak to a local university. Park had this dream of a creation that he’d been tinkering on about a man and his dog. Flash forward to today and we all know Wallace and Gromit. It’s this parable, as well as a couple others about perseverance, optimism and simply doing what’s right that really made A Grand Success! work as a book.

Lord and Sproxton have always operated in a niche world.  Stop-motion animation, the permanence of  of plasticine or clay and filming techniques aren’t the stuff that will ignite the conversation floor on a standard dinner party. However, their passion and the way they conducted themselves provide proof that if a business idea-and the people presenting it-are grounded enough it can work.

The two had multiple high growth periods or chances that showed them a different realm.  After their Academy Award and Peter Gabriel video they were flooded with jobs and taunting things. Hollywood called, they met with some of the big names and created Flushed Away, kind of. That film was supposed to be stop-animation, but Dreamworks, disappointing box office results from their previous films and more turned the film into CGI.

A Grand Success! looks at the many highs, as well as, the lows that Aardman had created. Early Man, being an example of later, but a small, non-descript sheep being a massive example of the former. I teach English online. I can show any of them a picture of Shaun the Sheep and they’ll start grinning from ear to ear.

You never know what you’ll create and what the audience will enjoy is another great take away from the book. It also helps that Sproxton, Lord and Park all seem like nice guys. A Grand Success! is a fabulous read. You can be a business student, in need of a self-help primer, animation fan, Anglophile, want something happy for the beach or just want a quality read that ewe’ll love. This is a great book that’ll stay in your permanent library.