After a successful run on TV, leaping to the big screen is no easy task for any show. But for Shaun the Sheep, it is as natural a move as… sheering a sheep!
Writer-directors Mark Burton and Richard Starzak have crafted one of the most enjoyable and delightful cinematic experiences of the summer to the silver screen with Shaun the Sheep and done so in the most incredible of ways.
Even though it has the most endearing and exciting of stories, Burton and Starzak’s script hardly contains one word of speech. It’s all grunts and gestures that do more to convey emotion and plot than 75 percent of the films out there with scripted dialogue that hope to compel drama, comedy and the entire rainbow of the human emotional spectrum.
Our journey starts with Shaun the Sheep as a young lamb. Shaun, his herd, the Farmer and his sheep dog are enjoying their daily lives and all that life on the farm brings. Years pass and the entire clan has gotten into a rut. It’s all chores and monotony, day after day after day.
Shaun gets the idea to take a day off and convinces his entire herd to go along with it. Only problem is they get the Farmer to take a nap in his trailer and they inadvertently knock it loose and it careens down the main road and races into the big city.
Shaun and two other sheep take it upon themselves to find their way into the city in an attempt to find the Farmer and bring him home. Meanwhile, The farmer has his own set of adventures and challenges in getting back to the farm from the big city.
As Shaun the Sheep is from Aardman Animation, you know the British animation talents will bring it again. The people that gave us Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit have crafted a stop motion claymation gem with their latest that packs a punch emotionally, comedically and visually.
Shaun and the Farmer, the audience knows, are meant to be together and meant to get home. But, their effort could not be more challenging, especially with an animal control warden — who loves his job a little too much — hot on their tail. There is plenty of drama, for sure, but the comedy moments are what shine brightest throughout.
The film also works on many levels as a solid piece of filmmaking for audiences of all ages. We particularly were amazed at how the youngest of movie audiences will find sheer joy in the film, and yet it does not feel at all like a film solely for kids.
There are messages in the film, but they are subtle. It doesn’t hit you over the head, but still manages to resonate long after the credits roll. At the end of the day, Shaun the Sheep is pure crowd-pleasing entertainment.
Grade: A