Review #888: 'Shaun the Sheep Movie' (2015)

For those of you without children or not currently attending University, Shaun the Sheep is an immensely (globally) popular children's TV show. Episodes are short, generally seven minutes long, and feature no dialogue whatsoever. No doubt the young adults who grew up on the Wallace & Gromit shorts will remember Shaun as the loveable sheep who managed to avoid becoming minced meat in the Oscar-winning short A Close Shave. Aardman Animations have created a monumental task for themselves in bringing the smart-alec sheep to the big screen and have him up there for a whole 90 minutes. Rest assured, Shaun the Sheep Movie is side-splittingly brilliant, and serves as a middle finger to anyone who doubts claymation's modern relevance.

Shaun (Justin Fletcher) is tired of his daily routine. In an early montage, we see Shaun and his flock grow up with the fun-loving Farmer (John Sparkes), who is always willing to boogie to his favourite tune and take selfies of himself with his four-legged family. But over time, Farmer grows weary and resigned to his work-heavy lifestyle. Shaun comes up with a plan to trick Farmer into sleeping all day in his caravan so Shaun and his friends can enjoy a day off in front of the TV. However, the caravan rolls away and heads for the city, leaving Farmer suffering from concussion and clueless as to who he is or where he came from. So Shaun and his less-intelligent friends form a rescue party that will see them, along with loyal dog Bitzer, dining in a classy restaurant and escaping from a gloomy pound.

The bulk of Shaun the Sheep's charm comes from the absence of dialogue. Rather than exchanging words, the character's balk and grunt at each other, conveying more emotion with the raising of an eyebrow than a few A-list actors could manage with an extended monologue. Animation-wise, this is Aardman's loveliest work to date, portraying a quaint England setting with a distinct modern touch, with hoodie's roaming the streets and a trendy high-street hairdresser serving as the location for one of the movie's more off-the-wall but hilarious sub-plots. The set-pieces are breathless and genuinely exciting, never missing an opportunity to slip in a clever gag. Shaun will no doubt keep children gripped to their seats and adults lapping up the slapstick and occasional fart joke, while no doubt charming both at the same time.


Directed by: Mark Burton, Richard Starzak
Voices: Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Omid Djalili, Richard Webber
Country: UK/France

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie