Shaun the Sheep Movie (B-) Movie Review
Shaun the Sheep Movie, the film adaptation of the popular kids television series of the same name (minus Movie) stars a slew of sheep, a dog, a farmer, one weird rodent(?), and a few other characters in this charming tale of a group of sheep that travel to the Big City after losing their farmer.
I've seen the television show on a few occasions (though I'm not an avid watcher) but I am a fan of the Wallace and Gromit short films that come to us from the same production company, Aardman Animations. For those still unfamiliar with their work, they work mostly in stop-motion animation, they're a British-based production company, and they're also the people behind Arthur Christmas, Flushed Away, and Chicken Run.
And what beautiful animation this is. It's colorful, bold, and so meticulously detailed. Truly some of the best animation we've seen all year in general, not just on the stop-motion front. According to IMDb, this film took its animators six years to make and the hard work honestly shows. I feel like the animators are being quite humble with their work. The beauteous quality of it all is never showy or "look at me" but takes a step back to let the gags come first and breathe. Superb.
Fans of Aardman Animations should be rather pleased with their latest outing, a zany adventure film that could be classified as a silent film, though there's sound effects and a mumble noise heard when adults talk, in the vein of Peanuts. Children, young and older, as well as adults, will also probably enjoy the film. The colorful and meticulous images are enough to keep young ones entertained, while there are plenty of jokes that will fly right over kids' heads.
There are jokes aplenty and most of them land. They're not laugh out loud but they're smile-inducing, as I found myself chuckling more times than expected. There are a couple very funny gags that include sheep dressing up as people and a prison break.
The idea of a dialogue-free animated kids film might be a dealbreaker for some adults before the film has even started but if you give it a chance, it soon becomes unnoticeable. There were only a couple of moments in which I felt like dialogue could've propelled the story but in their decision to exclude it entirely, the filmmakers did find some inventive ways of telling a story.
And the film clocks in at a small run time of only one hour and twenty five minutes, but it felt longer to me. The jokes are there, the beautiful animation is there, but there were stretches of the film where I just felt uninvolved. I think I'm in the minority here but I was just looking for MORE to happen that did. There was no escaping the thought for me that the whole endeavor could've worked a bit better as a forty-five minute short.
Also, the film had a slight emotional impact on me. It does contain a nice message about family and friendship but I consistently felt that this core story took a backseat to the gags of the film. Of course, these gags propel the narrative to get to a place of emotional resolution but I didn't feel like each gag was completely amusing.
My thoughts on Shaun the Sheep Movie are conflicted. I'm still sorting out my feelings and figuring out how I feel about it. It's worth your time and a lot of people are going to have a really good time with this one. It's not a masterpiece but it is consistently charming and it's beautifully animated. It's cute and harmless, just some elements to it didn't click for me.
FINAL GRADE: B-
MPAA RATING: PG for rude humor
I've seen the television show on a few occasions (though I'm not an avid watcher) but I am a fan of the Wallace and Gromit short films that come to us from the same production company, Aardman Animations. For those still unfamiliar with their work, they work mostly in stop-motion animation, they're a British-based production company, and they're also the people behind Arthur Christmas, Flushed Away, and Chicken Run.
And what beautiful animation this is. It's colorful, bold, and so meticulously detailed. Truly some of the best animation we've seen all year in general, not just on the stop-motion front. According to IMDb, this film took its animators six years to make and the hard work honestly shows. I feel like the animators are being quite humble with their work. The beauteous quality of it all is never showy or "look at me" but takes a step back to let the gags come first and breathe. Superb.
Fans of Aardman Animations should be rather pleased with their latest outing, a zany adventure film that could be classified as a silent film, though there's sound effects and a mumble noise heard when adults talk, in the vein of Peanuts. Children, young and older, as well as adults, will also probably enjoy the film. The colorful and meticulous images are enough to keep young ones entertained, while there are plenty of jokes that will fly right over kids' heads.
There are jokes aplenty and most of them land. They're not laugh out loud but they're smile-inducing, as I found myself chuckling more times than expected. There are a couple very funny gags that include sheep dressing up as people and a prison break.
The idea of a dialogue-free animated kids film might be a dealbreaker for some adults before the film has even started but if you give it a chance, it soon becomes unnoticeable. There were only a couple of moments in which I felt like dialogue could've propelled the story but in their decision to exclude it entirely, the filmmakers did find some inventive ways of telling a story.
And the film clocks in at a small run time of only one hour and twenty five minutes, but it felt longer to me. The jokes are there, the beautiful animation is there, but there were stretches of the film where I just felt uninvolved. I think I'm in the minority here but I was just looking for MORE to happen that did. There was no escaping the thought for me that the whole endeavor could've worked a bit better as a forty-five minute short.
Also, the film had a slight emotional impact on me. It does contain a nice message about family and friendship but I consistently felt that this core story took a backseat to the gags of the film. Of course, these gags propel the narrative to get to a place of emotional resolution but I didn't feel like each gag was completely amusing.
My thoughts on Shaun the Sheep Movie are conflicted. I'm still sorting out my feelings and figuring out how I feel about it. It's worth your time and a lot of people are going to have a really good time with this one. It's not a masterpiece but it is consistently charming and it's beautifully animated. It's cute and harmless, just some elements to it didn't click for me.
FINAL GRADE: B-
MPAA RATING: PG for rude humor