Aardman Animations

Aardman Animation's "Pib & Pog"

various, AtomFilms.com

With more Oscars to their name than Steven Spielberg, Aardman Animations (the folks behind the Wallace and Gromit claymation shorts and the adorable Chevron cars commercials) is enthusiastically pushing its refreshingly low-tech animation technique into the high-tech realm of the Internet. Teaming up with AtomFilms to broadcast their award-winning collection of shorts over the Web, these crazy Brits are eagerly showcasing their lightly twisted and thoroughly quirky sense of humor to anyone with a modem. Visit their corner of the AtomFilms site to download everything from early shorts like "Pib & Pog" (a nursery-safe Gumby knockoff that gets the Itchy and Scratchy treatment) to a preview of "Chicken Run," their feature-length folly hitting theatres this June. Most exciting is their upcoming "Angry Kid" series (http://www.angrykid.com), an exclusive online collection of 25 one-minute episodes premiering on the AtomFilms site May 8. Aiming to please the ribald tastes of their new wired audience, Aardman promises to tone down the kids stuff and dish out a more raucous show this time around. If you don't believe they can do it, check out their current "Rex the Runt" series (http://www.rextherunt.com), which chronicles the unpredictable mishaps of a misshapen dog creature and his friends.