The Peculiar Adventures Of Hector, Aardman animation (2007) A stunning piece of animated story telling deployed as a children’s road safety campaign The print logo appears on the end card of Rex the Runt. It has the font from the next logo and it seems to be the face speaking through a megaphone with stars (the one on the far right being the one from the next logo) shooting out of it. There is an alternate version of this logo shown on the VHS Aardman Animations Vol. 1. The box, instead of the normal animation, shows a time-lapse video of a man in a set building the logo together. After a while, we zoom in to the logo and the finished result is the altered variant. The text " Aardman Animation presents" is in a different font. On Flushed Away, an animated version exists, which looks like a prototype version of the next logo. The text appears by rolling up on an invisible roller, and the star pops in after it emerges. This variant would become the basis of the fourth logo.

The five, five minute episodes are a treat to watch – although as the surreal story lines develop, it does become obvious that these are movies with a message. The format owes something to the Charley the Cat public safety films of the 1970s. And for all the delights of Hector, when it comes to ramming home the messages – wear bright clothes when going out at night, wear a helmet and use lights when cycling and so on – they do drop into the stories with a bit of a clunk. Music/Sounds: Two ominous violin notes, followed by a 3-note flute tune, a musical "thud" as the head falls into place, and two more short bass violin notes as the clouds fall into place and bounce. At the beginning of the logo, water can be heard. This was all composed by Julian Nott. On Not Without My Handbag and The Wrong Trousers, the logo is altered. The smile is different, the two clouds above above the face are in a different position, the cloud above the tree on the left side has been lifted up to make it more visible, the number of red spots on the bowtie is slightly reduced and the last "A" in " AARDMAN" is in a different style.The logo first appeared in Angry Kid and its final appearance overall was in Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas, which premiered in international territories on Netflix on 3 December 2021 and then on BBC One on Christmas Eve 2021. This does not appear on Creature Comforts (original 1990 short film), Next, Going Equipped, Pib and Pog, Owzat, Never Say Pink Furry Die, Al Dente, Ident, Pop, War Story and Stage Fright, as they use an in-credit text instead. The standard variant with music debuted on the UK VHS/DVD Aardman Classics (from Momentum Pictures). On the Aardman Animations Vol. 1 variant, we hear an eerie tune with several synth toms, crash-like sound effects and a harp-like noise when the logo zooms in. This was also composed by Julian Nott.

Like all the best stories, ‘Hector’ is a thing of many layers. The dvd comes in a full plastic case and, as it starts to play gives every impression of being a highly superior piece of children’s animation. Hector is a super-cool, cycling, nine year old who inhabits an extraordinary world – largely of his own invention. At the end of the same VHS, the normal logo plays, but the text says " Coming Soon: Aardman Animations Vol II", in a different font. The in-credit variant is seen on Aardman-produced TV shows both Shaun the Sheep films and Early Man. The last 3 projects are coproduction with StudioCanal Trivia: This logo was based off the Flushed Away variant of the 2nd logo, just with the star also being printed out. Getting to the bottom of where these delights have sprung from does take a little work. In fact, they are part of a campaign by petrol retailers, Texaco. Their advertising agency created the character as part of a campaign to promote road safety, and thereby create ‘brand warmth’ for Texaco.Music/Sounds: A quiet grinding noise plays as the logo slides in, then silence, or the opening music of the film. Trivia: This was designed by Gavin Strange, who also designed the "Silly" variant of the BBC Two "Curve" IDs.