Shaun the Sheep

SHAUN THE SHEEP (U)

D: Mark Burton & Richard Starzak

StudioCanal/Aardman (Paul Kewley & Julie Lockhart)

UK 🇬🇧 2015

85 mins

Animated

W: Mark Burton & Richard Starzak [based on characters created by Nick Park]

Mus: Ilan Eshkeri

voices of: Justin Fletcher (Shaun), John Sparkes (Bitzer), Omid Djalili (Trumper)

Though this may be based on a TV show which is aimed at children, adults can enjoy this just as much, if not more so, especially those who are fans of other Aardman animated films like Wallace & Gromit or Chicken Run.

The rather simple story sees Shaun and his family of sheep need to rescue their amnesiac farmer from the big city after their mischief to get out of a sheering goes wrong.

It doesn't matter if you're unfamiliar with the happenings on the TV show, the plot here is completely standalone and though there's no dialogue aside from onomatopoeic sounds, there's still plenty to enjoy simply because of the imaginative animation techniques.

It's very understandable why this was honoured with an Oscar nomination in the Best Animated Feature category.

7/10

A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: FARMAGEDDON (U)

D: Richard Phelan & Will Becher

StudioCanal/Aardman/Anton Capital Entertainment (Paul Kewley)

UK 🇬🇧 2019

87 mins

Animated

W: Mark Burton & Jon Brown [based on characters created by Nick Park]

Mus: Tom Howe

voices of: Justin Fletcher (Shaun), John Sparkes (Bitzer), Amalia Vitale (Lu-La), David Holt (Mugg-1N5), Simon Greenall (The Twins)

Despite never watching the television show, I really enjoyed the first Shaun The Sheep movie, released in 2015.

I will always hold Aardman Animation in high regard and appreciate the amount of work they put into their stop-motion animated movies, and being a Brit myself it makes me proud to see a British film company doing so well. That being said, I was slightly disappointed with this sequel film, which is aimed very much at a young audience.

Shaun, the mischievous sheep of the title, comes into contact with an alien by the name of Lu-La, who crash lands in Mossy Bottom Farm, leading to shenanigans that young children will most likely find hilarious.

The intricate animation aside, I found the plot incredibly derivative of E.T., and there's really no excuse for lazy storylines, even if it is just a kid's movie. However, the film did make a good return on its budget, which would have been quite welcoming to the studio following the poor performance of their previous film, Early Man, which I actually enjoyed far more than this.

5/10