Blue Zoo: Special Award 2025

Blue Zoo, the children’s animation studio behind hit series including The Adventures of Paddington and LEGO City: No Limits, have received a BAFTA Special Award.

Co-founders Adam Shaw, Oli Hyatt MBE, and Tom Box said it was an honour that would keep driving them forward in future: “We hope the Award isn’t just a nod to our past, but it’s a cheer for what we do next at Blue Zoo. We’ll keep giving back, and we’ll keep speaking up for children and for our sector, but most of all, we will keep making high-quality content that inspires and entertains.”

Blue Zoo is a multi-award-winning animation studio with a 25-year legacy in children’s media. Set up by three university classmates the studio prides itself on a commitment to creating animation that educates, empowers, and entertains. Its work has positively impacted millions of children and families around the world, with Hyatt explaining: “From the start, we’ve believed animation can do more than raise a smile: it can teach, empower, and build lovable worlds that matter to children and families everywhere.”

The team at Blue Zoo has always been focused on being a force for good and was the first independent TV and film animation studio to become B Corp certified. As part of this the studio has worked pro bono with charities to highlight key social issues using the power of animated storytelling. This includes working on Sinking Feeling with PAPYRUS UK – a charity working to prevent youth suicide, and We Campaign Because They Can’t in collaboration with GOOD Agency for the Royal Society of the Protection of Birds (RSPB) – using creativity and humour to highlight environmental issues.

Building animated worlds that are inspiring a whole generation of children and shaping childhood memories filled with creativity and wonder is at the heart of what Blue Zoo does. And with a wide reach with shows available on BBC, Netflix, StudioCanal and their own YouTube channel the studio is reaching children far and wide.

From engaging pre-school children in vital educational skills through shows such as Alphablocks and Numberblocks, co-produced with Alphablocks Ltd, to inspiring them to play and create with Pip and Posy and Lego City: No Limits. Or even encouraging parents to sit down and share their own fond formative memories with their children through reimagined classics like The Adventures of Paddington. Blue Zoo’s award-winning programmes continually find new and exciting ways to capture the imaginations of entire families and give them ways to create childhood memories together.

A BAFTA Special Award is one of the academy’s highest honours recognising an outstanding contribution to film, games or television. You can see more award winners in our Awards database.

For more inspiring stories from the world of film, games and TV explore our BAFTA Award Stories.