employee-owned animation studio

Aardman Animations

An employee-owned animation studio producing film, television, and commercial work, with creative craft, trust ownership, and media-labor constraints. Aardman Animations lands in the middle because ownership is comparatively aligned and the model leaves more value with stakeholders, but person-dependent governance prevents a stronger rating.

Why this matters: Creative studios affect labor, culture, and ownership of artistic output.

Letter grade C Performative Medium confidence (AI) Rubric gcd-rubric-v1 Last reviewed May 6, 2026

Final Score 40* C - Performative

CPERFORMATIVE40 pts

* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.

Base Material45

Bonus+0

Cap66No structure cap

After Cap45

Penalties-5

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Evaluation Overview

C - Performative

The score turns mainly on Ownership, with the largest penalty coming from Reversibility.

Strengths

Ownership7/10
Extraction6/10
Governance5/10

Penalties

Reversibility-5

Evidence state

ConfidenceMedium confidence (AI)
ThoroughnessPartial (AI)
Linked claims5
Direct axis claims4
Coverage4/10

Scoring Axes

Axis	Score	Why this score
Ownership ? Control rights: shareholder-dominated at 0, worker cooperative control at 10.	7 / 10	Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust. Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust. That places Aardman Animations in the middle of Ownership: there is some mission, member, producer, or public-interest constraint, but decisive control is not fully democratic. The value stays below the top tier because the linked record does not show full democratic control, non-extractive lock-in, or complete stakeholder protection on this axis. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 146 scored entries below, 21 tied, 59 above on Ownership. Linked evidence Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust. [1]
Governance ? Binding decision authority: centralized control at 0, democratic stakeholder control at 10.	5 / 10	Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust, protecting independence and employee benefit without creating a conventional public shareholder structure. Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust, protecting independence and employee benefit without creating a conventional public shareholder structure. That places Aardman Animations in the middle of Governance: there are accountability mechanisms, but they stop short of broad democratic control. The value stays below the top tier because the linked record does not show full democratic control, non-extractive lock-in, or complete stakeholder protection on this axis. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 127 scored entries below, 20 tied, 79 above on Governance. Linked evidence context Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust. [1] Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust, protecting independence and employee benefit without creating a conventional public shareholder structure. [2]
Extraction ? Surplus allocation, wage share, CEO pay ratio, margins, and structured extraction judgment.	6 / 10	Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust. Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust. That places Aardman Animations in the middle of Extraction: the institution creates real value but still leaves room for rent extraction, unequal bargaining, or surplus capture. The value stays below the top tier because the linked record does not show full democratic control, non-extractive lock-in, or complete stakeholder protection on this axis. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 115 scored entries below, 24 tied, 87 above on Extraction. Linked evidence context Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust. [1]
Labor Sovereignty ? Worker power: coercive conditions at 0, co-determination or ownership at 7. Employee dissatisfaction matters only when source-backed evidence shows concrete limits on worker agency, such as coercive scheduling, retaliation, wage theft, harassment, unsafe conditions, suppression of worker voice, or extreme turnover.	5 / 7	Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust. Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust. That places Aardman Animations in the middle of Labor Sovereignty: workers or participants have some protection or agency, but not enough binding power to control the relationship. The value stays below the top tier because the linked record does not show full democratic control, non-extractive lock-in, or complete stakeholder protection on this axis. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 152 scored entries below, 40 tied, 34 above on Labor Sovereignty. Linked evidence context Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust. [1]
Solidarity with the Unemployed ? Treatment of exits and nonworkers, including severance, redeployment, and non-competes.	4 / 7	Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust. Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust. That places Aardman Animations in the middle of Solidarity with the Unemployed: some access, severance, retraining, openness, or mutual-aid value is present, but it is not central or durable. The value stays below the top tier because the linked record does not show full democratic control, non-extractive lock-in, or complete stakeholder protection on this axis. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 127 scored entries below, 30 tied, 69 above on Solidarity with the Unemployed. Linked evidence context Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust. [1]
Loss-Bearing Fidelity ? Willingness to absorb costs to preserve values, workers, users, and public obligations.	5 / 7	Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust. Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust. That places Aardman Animations in the middle of Loss-Bearing Fidelity: there is some willingness to preserve obligations, but the record still leaves meaningful risk-shifting concerns. The value stays below the top tier because the linked record does not show full democratic control, non-extractive lock-in, or complete stakeholder protection on this axis. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 119 scored entries below, 43 tied, 64 above on Loss-Bearing Fidelity. Linked evidence context Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust. [1]
Market Conduct ? Pricing fairness, switching costs, lock-in, and rent extraction.	4 / 5	Aardman describes a studio focused on original animation and character-based creative work. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 106 scored entries below, 73 tied, 47 above on Market Conduct. Linked evidence context Aardman describes a studio focused on original animation and character-based creative work. [3]
Product Integrity ? Preservation of quality rather than degradation for monetization.	5 / 5	Aardman describes a studio focused on original animation and character-based creative work. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 134 scored entries below, 92 tied, 0 above on Product Integrity. Linked evidence Aardman describes a studio focused on original animation and character-based creative work. [3]
Scale Integrity ? Whether growth improves or degrades fairness and accountability.	4 / 5	Aardman describes a studio focused on original animation and character-based creative work. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 109 scored entries below, 81 tied, 36 above on Scale Integrity. Linked evidence context Aardman describes a studio focused on original animation and character-based creative work. [3]

Penalties

Penalty	Applied	Why this penalty
Reversibility ? Applied when positive conduct depends on current living leaders, founders, family owners, or other person-contingent governance rather than durable structure. Range: -5 to 0.	-5	Aardman Animations's favorable conduct depends partly on current leaders, founders, family owners, executive discretion, or other person-contingent control rather than a fully locked democratic stakeholder-control structure. Aardman Animations's favorable conduct depends partly on current leaders, founders, family owners, executive discretion, or other person-contingent control rather than a fully locked democratic stakeholder-control structure. That warrants a severe Reversibility penalty because favorable conduct depends on current people or discretionary leadership rather than locked stakeholder structure. The value is near the floor because the conduct appears central, large-scale, repeated, or institutionally powerful rather than incidental. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 0 scored entries below, 95 tied, 131 above on Reversibility. Linked evidence context Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust. [1] Aardman Animations's favorable conduct depends partly on current leaders, founders, family owners, executive discretion, or other person-contingent control rather than a fully locked democratic stakeholder-control structure. [4]

Bonus Credits

No bonus credits applied in this version.

Confidence Basis

Confidence is computed from the evidence trail and review state, not typed into the profile by hand.

Medium 66/100

5 verified linked claims 4 direct axis claims 0 disputed claims 4/10 components covered

This confidence label measures the source-backed evidence trail. AI-scaffolded scores remain tentative until human review.

Claim confidence 16/20

5 verified linked claims

Source quality 11/18

Best source per verified claim, weighted by institutional reliability

Direct axis-specific claims 6/18

4 direct claims across 10 active components

Dispute load 12/12

0 disputed claims on this entity

Recency 10/10

Newest accepted timestamp: May 13, 2026

Reviewer status 7/12

Human-reviewed components score higher than AI scaffolding

Component coverage 4/10

4/10 evidence-bearing components have direct support

Evidence State

Profile stateAI draft / human-pending

VerificationUnverified

ConfidenceMedium confidence (AI)

ThoroughnessPartial (AI)

Correction routeUse “Challenge this rating” for factual errors, missing counterevidence, source problems, or calculation mistakes.

Company responseCompany representatives can submit source-backed corrections; payment never changes scores or reviewer authority.

Claims and Sources

Claims are the evidence record. Each claim needs a source link, axis category, status, confidence level, and timestamp before it can support a score.

* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.

1Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust.

Ownership Verified High confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 5, 2026

AI scaffold

Aardman becomes employee ownedGeneral web source · 58%

2Aardman states that it became employee owned through an employee ownership trust, protecting independence and employee benefit without creating a conventional public shareholder structure.

Governance Verified High confidence Human-reviewed May 5, 2026

Aardman becomes employee ownedGeneral web source · 58%

3Aardman describes a studio focused on original animation and character-based creative work.

Product Integrity Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 5, 2026

AI scaffold

Aardman aboutOfficial self-description · 68%

4Aardman Animations's favorable conduct depends partly on current leaders, founders, family owners, executive discretion, or other person-contingent control rather than a fully locked democratic stakeholder-control structure.

Reversibility Verified Medium confidence Human-reviewed May 5, 2026

Aardman becomes employee ownedGeneral web source · 58%

5Aardman Animations's public materials state a mission, values, ownership model, advocacy role, or institutional standpoint plainly enough that this record does not identify penalty-level neutrality theater.

Ideological Disavowal Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 9, 2026

AI scaffold

Aardman Animations official siteGeneral web source · 58%
Aardman becomes employee ownedGeneral web source · 58%
Aardman aboutOfficial self-description · 68%

Alternatives

AGOOD63 Future Club employee-owned cooperative game studio · United States AGOOD63 KO_OP worker-owned game studio · Canada AGOOD63 Motion Twin worker cooperative game studio · France AGOOD61 Means Interactive cooperative game publisher · United States AGOOD58 Blender Foundation public-benefit open-source foundation · Netherlands

Competitors

DEXTRACTIVE20 Games Workshop public tabletop miniatures company · same market AGOOD63 Future Club employee-owned cooperative game studio · United States AGOOD63 KO_OP worker-owned game studio · Canada AGOOD63 Motion Twin worker cooperative game studio · France AGOOD61 Means Interactive cooperative game publisher · United States AGOOD58 Blender Foundation public-benefit open-source foundation · Netherlands AGOOD56 Stocksy United artist cooperative platform · United States AGOOD52 itch.io independent game marketplace · Global

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Evidence comes in through contributors, is checked by verifiers, and is synthesized by reviewers. Founder authority remains narrow and visible; scores recalculate when verified claims or the rubric change.

Civic Note

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Audit Log

Recent public changes for this company or group. The full audit log is part of the Transparency record.

May 6, 2026 at 12:00 AM UTC ai-scaffolding toxic-products-assessment

Added tentative AI-generated Toxic Products penalty 0 and directory value for current toxic, addictive, pesticide, livestock, chemical, or consumer-safety product exposure.

May 5, 2026 at 12:00 AM UTC ai-scaffolding ai-scaffolding-score

Added tentative AI-generated claim-backed score components for a previously listed under-review company or group.

View Full Audit Log