The team behind Wallace & Gromit brings the lesser known "Shaun the Sheep" to theaters in his first big movie. It's another hit for the stop-motion wizards at Aardman! Shaun the Sheep Movie follows the titular ewe and his flock as they journey from the country to the big city in order to recover their misplaced farmhand.
This movie recalls some of Aardman's earliest shorts in that they all thrive on "silent film" sensibilities. The removal of dialogue allows individual character traits to shine through. Shaun the Sheep Movie is filled with terrific slapstick humor that gives way to hilarious little character moments, like the dog dressing as a surgeon and accidentally stumbling into the operating room at a hospital. The whole production feels like a classic Buster Keaton adventure.
It's wonderful that we've had now two great animated films this summer from studios with winning pedigrees. Both Pixar's Inside Out and now Aardman's Shaun evoke shades of material that's wiser, more clever, and more involved than most young children are prepared for. Inside Out still takes the cake between the two for its manic-but-heady fun where Shaun often feels just plain manic. Several key plot elements early on also feel as if they've been hoisted straight from Aardman's own Chicken Run. Overall that makes Shaun feel slightly contrived from a narrative standpoint, but the character development single-handedly makes up for it.
PROS:
-"Silent film" sensibilities
-Slapstick humor that works
-Great character moments
-Master craftsmanship we've come to expect from Aardman
CONS:
-Narrative feels contrived early on
-Manic tendencies lack some depth
B+
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