Shaun the Sheep Movie

Movie Information

The Story: Shaun the Sheep leads the flock on an adventure in the city that turns out to be more than he bargained for. The Lowdown: Moderately successful attempt to capture the spirit of silent movie comedy with claymation sheep. More clever than outright funny, but invariably pleasant — and ought to appeal to younger viewers.
Score:

Genre: Animated Sheep Comedy
Director: Mark Burton, Richard Starzak
Starring: (Voices) Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Omid Djalili, Richard Webber
Rated: PG

sts-gasp

 

The folks at Britain’s Aardman Animation are back, and much as with Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005), I find myself in a kind of outside-looking-in mode — only more so. I don’t dislike Shaun the Sheep Movie, but neither am I ga-ga over it. While nearly all of my critic compatriots are singing its praises and making sheep puns, I’m shrugging my shoulders and wondering what kind of pun I can get away with involving the use of the word “flocking.” The film is perfectly fine, but it requires a taste for claymation — and Aardman’s penchant for somewhat unappealingly grotesque character design — which I just don’t have. When everyone else is laughing hysterically, I’m wondering why the sheep’s mouths protrude from the sides of their faces. My loss, I’m sure.

 

Shaun-the-Sheep-5

 

This is a very simple story about our title hero — faced with some kind sheep ennui over the day-to-day tedium of farm life — leading the flock astray and into the Big City with the Farmer and his dog Bitzer in pursuit. That, of course, is merely the set-up for a series of gags and adventures, and I’d be the last to say that most of the gags aren’t clever. They are. The whole thing is geared toward these gags, all of which are visual. There’s no dialogue. The voice cast supplies bleats, barks and assorted…noises, but nothing coherent. That’s clever and different, but it’s a bit limiting, too — and, no, this doesn’t prevent the film being littered with pop-culture references. They’re merely conveyed visually, and they aren’t quite as clever as the early reviews suggested. For example, the announced Night of the Hunter reference is the simplest — and most overused — choice imaginable.

 

Shaun the Sheep the Movie

 

The idea is clearly to evoke the spirit of the great silent comics, though the most obvious direct reference involves a Laurel and Hardy gag that I only recall from a talkie short film — but it is a visual gag. It’s probably in the film’s favor that it doesn’t much attempt to duplicate actual silent movie gags, but instead simply goes for the vibe of those old movies. (Its closest antecedent is the thrill comedy of Harold Lloyd — with a pretty profound dash of the world of Laurel and Hardy where people can be bamboozled by the damndest charades.) Yes, it’s fun — and it wisely doesn’t go on too long — but I found it more clever and amusing than outright funny. Your mileage may vary. Rated PG for rude humor.

 

SHARE
About Ken Hanke
Head film critic for Mountain Xpress from December 2000 until his death in June 2016. Author of books "Ken Russell's Films," "Charlie Chan at the Movies," "A Critical Guide to Horror Film Series," "Tim Burton: An Unauthorized Biography of the Filmmaker."

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.