Netflix has been pretty open about wanting to expand its major franchises like Stranger Things, Squid Game and The Witcher. However, we just learned about a new expanding universe within the Netflix catalog. In an interview with Variety published on Jan. 21, the creative duo behind the short film Robin Robin are working on spinoffs. Robin Robin, co-written and co-directed by Dan Ojari and Mikey Please, is a 2021 stop-motion musical from Aardman Animations that’s become a holiday favorite.
“We are currently working on more stories in the world of Robin Robin,” Please said. “I think that’s all we’re allowed to say. But that would certainly be our hopes and dreams. We feel like there are loads more stories to tell in this world, so we’d love to do more.”
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The duo didn’t offer specifics on the spinoffs. Elsewhere in the interview, they discuss how it came to fruition and the decision to craft the movie in a needle-felt style. The look of the project is a departure for Aardman, which is known for the claymation look of beloved characters like Shaun the Sheep, Wallace and Gromit.
“Early on — before we had devised the needle-felt look — there were conversations about using the Aardman aesthetic of clay and go down that route. But we were excited to just have a go at trying something different,” Please said, later adding that Robin Robin aligned with Aardman’s storytelling tradition of showing “underdog characters, weirdos and certain things on the fringe,” with or without a clay look.
Ojari went on to add, “There was a big appetite here [for us to do something different] as well. I had assumed that [there would be pressure to adopt the company’s aesthetic]. Aardman has got a very distinctive and well-known style. But the culture here and where [the company] came from, is really explorative, creator led. Odd projects that grow into bigger things. And what is really great about being here is that culture of supporting creators with a character they’ve made or a story and trying to grow it into something for a wider audience, for a family audience. And Netflix as well were really keen just to support the creators and the creative vision behind the project and go all in on that, which was wonderful.”
Robin Robin is now streaming on Netflix. The official synopsis reads: “When her egg fortuitously rolls into a rubbish dump, Robin is raised by a loving family of mice. As she grows up, her differences become more apparent. Robin sets off on the heist to end all heists to prove to her family that she can be a really good mouse – but ends up discovering who she really is.” Its voice cast includes Richard E. Grant, Gillian Anderson, Adeel Akhtar and Bronte Carmichael.
