Disney+ Lands Pokémon in Global Deal, With Aardman Stop-Motion Series Coming in 2027
Disney+ has struck a global distribution deal with The Pokémon Company International that brings a new stop-motion series to the platform in 2027, with the first title under the agreement already on air Variety.
The deal was announced on Friday, 28 August 2026, during a panel at Pokémon XP, the fan event held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. It covers both the Disney XD linear channel and the Disney+ streaming service across the U.S. and select international markets.
The headline title is Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch'd & Pichu, a stop-motion series from Aardman — the British studio behind Wallace & Gromit. The show follows Sirfetch'd, a gallant duck-like Pokémon wielding a leek as a sword, and Pichu, the baby pre-evolution of Pikachu, as they journey through the Galar Region to help and protect Pokémon in need. It will debut on Disney XD and stream exclusively on Disney+.
Production is a collaboration between The Pokémon Company International and Aardman. Tom Parkinson directs, with Nat McKay serving as creative director of IP development and James Young leading model making — the painstaking craft of building the physical puppets and sets that stop-motion animation requires, frame by frame.
The deal is already live. Pokémon the Series: The Beginning, which follows Ash and Pikachu's earliest adventures through the Pokémon world, began airing on Disney XD earlier in August 2026, making it the first title to launch under the new agreement. It is also available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S. and some international markets.
Disney kids & family president Ayo Davis addressed the new series and the broader Disney XD and Disney+ additions in remarks tied to the announcement. Pokémon's director of original animation Phil Rynda commented on the new series and praised Aardman's contribution to the project. Neither executive's full statements have been independently reproduced here.
For Pokémon, the deal pairs one of the world's most valuable entertainment brands with Disney's global distribution reach — a significant shift in where fans will find the franchise going forward. For Disney+, adding Pokémon to its kids & family slate brings a property with decades of built-in audience across multiple generations. And for Aardman, whose stop-motion work is instantly recognisable to anyone who grew up with claymation, the series pairs the studio's craft with characters that sell in the tens of millions.
