Movie Reviews

Shawn The Sheep Movie - 8/21/15

Stop-Motion Claymation is not the 'smoothest' choice when deciding to make a movie. You need to have incredible patience when using this format of film making, as using clay and wax to create and shape all the movements that are required in a feature-length presentation takes a LONG time. It often takes film crews weeks on created sets, moving clay figures by miniscule amounts on multiple areas of the body, (blinking, twitching, scratching), to film what adds up to a few minutes, or even just a few seconds, on screen. Some films have thousands of copies of the same figures, just in different poses, in order to streamline production and filming. Claymation is an extremely difficult medium for moviemaking, and therefore, without painstaking care, it can easily turn into a lack-luster product. However, when done right, the final outcome of a Claymation motion picture can be absolutely memorable, and there is no company that epitomizes this standard of effort like Aardman Animations.

Famous for their use of Stop-Motion Claymation, all of Aardman Animation's films are some of the highest-grossing and highest-rated Stop-Motion Claymation films and shorts of all time. Examples include 'Chicken Run,' and the adventures of the famous pair, 'Wallace & Gromit,' who've starred in shorts such as, 'A Grand Day Out, 'The Wrong Trousers,' 'A Close Shave,' 'A Matter of Loaf and Death!,' and their own feature-length film, 'Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit!' But today, we're not focusing on the brilliant, cheese-loving inventor and his silent canine companion, or the courageous efforts of a hen trying to not become a pie. No, today we're focusing on a film that centers on a side-character that made his debut in a 'Wallace & Gromit' short film back in December of 1995, who later went on to star in his own show.

In February, 2015 (In the UK), 'Shaun the Sheep Movie' was released into theaters. Does Aardman once again deliver a perfectly molded masterpiece to the big screen, or is this movie just baaa-aaaa-aaad? Well......

The Plot:

Shaun is a mischievous sheep that lives on quiet, cozy Mossy Bottom Farm under the Farmer's guidance and the Farmer's dog Blitzer's protection. Tired of having to follow the same, boring, day-to-day routine, Shaun hatches a plan to take a day-off. Unfortunately, the plan goes sideways, and Shaun, not to mention his whole flock, accidently lose their Farmer in the Big City. Now, Shaun and Co. must head to the Big City and get their Farmer back before things go south on the farm.

Now, I've seen several Shaun the Sheep shorts on Disney Channel, each lasting no longer than 7 minutes. So, when I heard they were making a movie centered on a farm animal that doesn't talk, I was worried about how they would stretch a misadventure that usually lasts less than 10 minutes in a short to a movie more than an hour long. The plot of trying to find the Farmer in the Big City, while certainly not original, is a good device for introducing multiple situations for Shaun and his friends to react to, which is the 'standard' in the Shaun the Sheep shorts. This is how the film is able to go from 7 minutes to 85. In addition, there are sub-plots that help carry the movie along regarding the flock's misadventures in the City while they're looking for the Farmer, which I will not spoil. It's one of these sub-plots that cleverly delivers the important life-lesson to both Shaun and the audience, which I'll talk about in a bit. And even though the film is 'silent,' as the characters only mumble and make indistinguishable noises, the film's charm is through its visuals, which consist of slapstick comedy and clever 'punch-lines,' and these visual skits provide plenty of material for a full-length movie.

If you're looking for a film with a deep plot or heaps of background lore, wrong movie! (Obviously!)With Shaun the Sheep Movie, what you see is what you get - a light-hearted adventure.

The Cast:

In terms of characters, the movie doesn't have the largest number or the most varied. In fact, the Farmer could even be seen as one-dimensional. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as the film only needs to focus on the three characters that are it's stars: Shaun, Blitzer the Dog, and the Flock. Yes, the Flock, all the other sheep, count as a single character, even though some of them have unique traits; they all follow Shaun and act as one. Anyway, since the shorts these characters were from were mostly visual gags based on the situation, you wouldn't expect a lot of character development. Surprisingly, there is some emotional development in the film, as the message of the importance of family is shown in a clever way through one of the films sub-plots. (Again, no spoilers!) The plot of trying to find the farmer and the visual gags that make up most of the film serve as the means of developing the film's message, and the process is pulled off surprisingly well.

While there's no life-changing event for any of the film's characters, the character's reaction to the film's sub-plot is emotionally touching, which is what makes this Claymation production more than just an animated short. The characters are never boring, even though they never talk. The audience can relate to their mishaps and their eventual enlightenment. However, the film might leave some members of the audience wanting more development of the characters and their original situation, and personally, I can't blame them. The ending was a little simple for a major motion picture.

The Animation: Again, Stop-Motion Claymation is a challenging medium for creating movies, but Aardman once more delivers a shining example of what happens when you pull it off. Since no one in the film speaks, the film's impact is through its visuals. With so many background characters in the movie as well as all the things going on in a typical city background, Aardman makes the film a treat for the eyes. However, it's without a doubt that fans of Aardman's style of Claymation will like this movie far more than an average movie-goer, and it could be said that since the picture is an Aardman film, there's already some positive pre-disposition due to past successes. To an extent, these expectations are correct, but some Aardman fans might set their expectations just a little bit too high when they go in to see this movie.

Final Results: All in all, 'Shaun the Sheep Movie' is a good film. It's funny at some moments, heart-warming at others, and looks great throughout. However, even if this film is attached to Aardman, the light plot and light characters don't exactly warrant a release on the silver screen like other Aardman classics. I'm not saying the film didn't meet the standards needed to deserve a cinematic release, but if this film was first shown on TV, it would probably have gotten a better reception than it will having debuted on the big screen, especially when this film is competing against some of the other films in theaters like Ant-Man and Inside Out. If I have anything negative to say about this movie, it's that, I didn't see one single cameo of Wallace and Gromit! I would've probably liked the movie about 10% more if Aardman had made that little nod to fans. Anyway.....

How should you see this movie: I don't regret seeing this movie at the theater, but I think I would have liked to see this film on TV or Netflix. The movie would've played better on TV, at home on a Saturday morning. Still, if you want to see this in theaters, I'm not saying it's a bad decision.

Rating: B-