Weeks, not days - and the schedule is dominated by two stages people consistently underestimate: fabrication and the shoot. The pipeline runs script and message first, then storyboard and boardomatic, then design and fabrication of puppets, armatures, sets and props, then rig and frame-by-frame capture, then post, compositing and foley.
The critical detail is the sign-off gate. You approve at the boardomatic stage, before anything gets built, because changing your mind after fabrication has started costs real money and real time. Any agency that does not have that gate is setting you up for an expensive surprise. If you need a film next week, stop motion is not the format - we will tell you so and point you at 2D animation instead.
