Big Fix Up Cast Shot

Fictioneers The Big Fix Up

Insight

Storytelling for the 21st century.

Bringing iconic, beloved characters to life through the power of augmented reality in an immersive adventure creates a new form of storytelling and entertainment for the 21st century.

Idea

The Big Fix Up is a first-of-its-kind, immersive narrative-driven experience that brings two of Britain’s finest, Wallace and Gromit, from their clay-mation world into ours.

A free app combines cutting edge developments in mixed reality technology. Through a Snapchat filter players can conjure up characters as life-size avatars directly in front of them, wherever they are.

To create The Big Fix Up, Fictioneers, conceived and launched by AKQA-owned digital product studio Potato, in partnership with Sugar Creative and Tiny Rebel Games - collaborated with multi-award winning independent studio Aardman.

A small robot with LAD on its head holds a sign that reads GET MILK + TEABAGS while standing behind metal railings in a dimly lit room.
A smartphone screen shows two versions of a claymation dog: one glowing blue and digital-looking, the other in natural clay colors, standing against a plain blue background.
A claymation character in a green shirt sits in a pile of envelopes labeled URGENT, smiling widely and raising one finger. In the background, there’s a mug and some equipment on a wooden desk.

In the first adventure in over a decade, the entrepreneurial duo’s new business venture Spick & Spanners, takes fans on a contract to fix up Bristol, the home of Aardman. Players can sign up to become an employee of Spick & Spanners and help Wallace and Gromit get out of trouble. Through a host of augmented reality gameplay, CG animations, in-character phone calls, extended reality (XR) portals, and comic strips, fans become a crucial part of the story.

A bespoke software platform powers the experience; created by Fictioneers. MUST (Multi User Storytelling) enables creative teams to design real-time stories, timelines and activities whilst integrating various supporting transmedia.

Characters are voiced by celebrities, including Miriam Margolyes, Jim Carter, Isy Suttie, Joe Sugg and Ben Whitehead as Wallace.

Impact

Fictioneers bring together a host of cutting-edge technology and partners to realise ambitions and create a new form of storytelling.

The Big Fix up has been created with technology partners, including Unity, which powers more than 60 per cent of the world’s augmented reality and virtual reality content; 3D mapping platform Fantasmo to enable a city-scale augmented reality experience, bringing Bristol city to life. Plus, UI software developer toolkit Flutter and 3D distance scanning technology LIDAR. The project is also backed by funding from the Government’s UK Research and Innovation.

Fans can take part from the comfort of home just by downloading the free app, pushing the boundaries of tech-driven storytelling. Cracking.

A quirky robot with tank treads, yellow gloves, an antenna, and a mechanical arm points upward. Sketches and design notes are shown on the left, with the finished robot moving to the right against a white background.
A whimsical robot with a beige dome top, spring-like body, tank tracks, and an orange flag stands on a grid-patterned floor. Control buttons and color swatches are visible on the right and bottom edges.
Wallace and Gromit have innovation at the comedic heart of their world. Working with Fictioneers has been a perfect fit, allowing us to bring the duo’s fantastic fictional contraptions into audiences’ homes using the latest technology.
- Merlin Crossingham, Creative Director of Wallace and Gromit, Aardman

Following on from The Big Fix Up, Fix Up the City has been released. The app uses hyper-precise digital scanning to transform the cities Bristol and Cardiff, UK, and San Francisco, into a virtual stage. Through large-scale augmented reality experiences, fans can interact with Wallace’s famous rocket, watch Gromit take off in his iconic plane and battle a colossal cleaning robot.

With The Big Fix Up we have created a new, rich and multi-layered experience, where for the first time you can become part of Wallace and Gromit’s story. This will be the first of many releases using the Fictioneers platform.
- Scott Ewings, Venture Lead, Potato and co-founder of Fictioneers
Two clay-animated characters stand together on a red background. One holds a mug with a W and wears a green shirt with tool symbols, while the other, a dog, holds a wrench and looks at the camera.
A clay animation man in a green shirt smiles and salutes while driving a car, with a concerned-looking dog sitting beside him in the passenger seat.

Download the app for free on iOS and Android.

thebigfixup.co.uk ↘
  • CampaignWallace and Gromit venture into AR with immersive storytelling app ↘
  • The GuardianNew Wallace and Gromit tale stars robot pigeons … and you ↘
  • EngadgetWallace and Gromit get their first AR story in The Big Fix Up ↘
  • Variety The Big Fix Up, featuring all-new animation, makes fans part of their latest business venture ↘

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