Sarah Cox, Executive Creative Director, Aardman

Sarah Cox sits on the Board of Directors at Aardman and in her role as Executive Creative Director, is responsible for the development slate across the company.

Meet Sarah Cox, Executive Creative Director, Aardman

Sarah Cox sits on the Board of Directors at Aardman and in her role as Executive Creative Director at Aardman is responsible for the development slate across the company. She has brought a range of new projects to the Aardman roster that include the stop frame musical short Robin Robin and Aardman’s first CG series Lloyd of the Flies and also was Executive Producer of the Shaun the Sheep series Adventures of Mossy Bottom for Netflix and Epic Adventures of Morph for Sky.

Q: What was your first job in the industry? What did it teach you?

I worked at the Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool helping to deliver animation workshops to
children after school and holiday clubs. I learnt that children can be the most critical,
discerning and deserving audience and that animation can be a wonderful means of
expression, education and humour on so many levels.

Q: Who inspired you to join the field/who inspired your work?

I went to an animation degree show in Liverpool and saw a student film by Susan Young
called Carnival based on her sketches of the Notting Hill Carnival. I didn’t know animation could be that direct and powerful. I ended up on the course which was one of only 2 animation courses in the country at the time and was taught by the inspirational Ray Fields. I learnt to ‘look’. I still think the skill to notice and observe character movement and posture and timing is the single most important and underrated skill in animation.

I see a desire and need for quality. In a time of increased proliferation of content we need
to make and curate films work of the highest quality for young audiences.

Sarah Cox, Executive Creative Director, Aardman

Q: Which project are you most proud to have worked on?

Tough question – probably ‘The Tate Movie Project – Itch of the Golden Nit’ where we had a goal to help every child in the UK participate in the making of a ‘movie’. It formed part of the Cultural Olympiad in 2012. I also am very proud of the knitted environmental short film I directed for the Live Earth concert called ‘Don’t Let it All Unravel’ which was my first collaboration with Aardman in 2007. In my role now as an Executive Producer it would have to be the Oscar nominated Christmas Special for Netflix ‘Robin Robin’ directed by Dan Ojari and Mikey Please.

Q: When you look at the future of animation in your field, what do you see?

I see a desire and need for quality. In a time of increased proliferation of content we need
to make and curate films work of the highest quality for young audiences.

Q: What 3 animated pieces of work were among some of your favorite work from 2023?

I am biased but Chicken Run Dawn of the Nugget is my obvious choice for its comedy, action, adventure but most of all the wonderful characters old and new.

My less obvious choice is the Chiroptera performance by JR. I didn’t see it in person but I would have loved to have been there. It’s probably technically ‘dance’ but it is also a kind of human scale animation. I do love things like this.

I also recently saw Wild Summon by Karni and Saul which I thought was an amazing and powerful short film.

Q: What do you look forward to most as a founding Collision Award jury member?

I enjoy meeting people outside of my immediate environment and comparing creative
thoughts and ideas. I really want to contribute to the recognition and reward of talent and
quality work in our field.