Wait, he must not have seen Inside Out, you’re saying to yourself. I did see that and loved every moment of it. However, the difference is that I expected to like that film, whereas my expectations for Shaun the Sheep were low. I am a big Shaun the Sheep fan; we’ve had the DVDs for years, have a couple picture books and relish the chance when we can watch it. Having said that, there were lulls in the feature length Wallace & Gromit movies and we really love those. Plus, even the television length Shaun the Sheep episodes had our mind wandering-and they’re only 12 minutes or so. For the film version of Shaun the Sheep Aardman nails it to the floor in their best movie, a classic stop animation masterpiece and something that the entire family can watch with everyone enjoying it.
Our expectations were low because we knew going into the film that there were would most likely be no dialogue. The last movie we saw with no dialogue was Caveman back in 1981 and it was so bad that it left a stain on our young soul. The same soundless overtone goes with Shaun the Sheep; there are grunts, noises that sound like words, squeals and yells, but no actual words. The humans in the film don’t even speak-and we are A-OK with that as long it’s as fabulously entertaining as this film.
It is divided up into a couple different set pieces with each segment having a couple gags. Shaun is on the farm doing his thing when he gets the wacky idea of taking a day off. One thing leads to another and the Farmer ends up in the city not knowing who he is. Shaun, Bitzer and the sheep find their way to the city and must locate him. The problem is that Farmer has amnesia and is now a rock star hair stylist who doesn’t recognize his sheep and dog.
This plot is ridiculous and should not work, but it does. We went with a 3, 5 and 7 year old and they were all laughing loud and often, just like me. There are lots of physical gags that the young kids will like, sublime humor that adults will enjoy and a story that really has heart and emotion.
From the very first scenes of the film it’s obvious that there is love, detail and affection slathered all over this film. The creators love it and have made something that they really want the audience to enjoy and we do. It’s a great, simple story that anyone, anywhere can relate to.
Fans of the television show will like how it transplants the characters. If you’ve never seen the show there is no learning curve, you’ll be OK. Fans of stop animation already know the deal and flew to the U.K. to see this film when it first came out there.
The stop animation is gorgeous. The sets that they created for the city centre have lots of layers are rich in detail and require a second viewing of the film to truly appreciate them.
Even if you’re not a stop animation geek you will love Shaun the Sheep. True, we cried at Inside Out, that is a great film. But as an overall film, Shaun the Sheep beats that due to its originality, craftsmanship and quality.
Shaun the Sheep also gets big points for having a fabulous original song by Tim Wheeler from Ash. Granted, this film is essentially a big basket of things that I personally love. But that is all the more reason that I was ready to be disappointed by it-and I wasn’t.
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