You wouldn’t think so by the broiling temps, but the Fall season officially begins in a few days. And helping to push us into the Fall movie season is this family flick that centers on the big holiday. No, Thanksgiving is a couple of months away. This is a big Halloween movie that’s for “all ages”, despite that arbitrary “PG” rating. Unlike the big CG-produced features this year, like TOY STORY 5, HOPPERS, and those MINIONS, this is “old school” stop-motion animation puppetry, before Laika’s WILDWOOD opens next month. And this is a sequel, the latest in a trilogy by that “crazy crew from across the pond”, Aardman Animations. The main stars aren’t Wallace & Gromit, nor the birds of CHICKEN RUN, though the principal setting is a farm. A few months ago, these fluffy lil’ critters were darling detectives, so why can’t they figure in a monster movie satire? So, let’s get our “tricks n’ treats” with SHAUN THE SHEEP: THE BEAST OF MOSSY BOTTOM. Boo! Baaa!
In a bucolic farm just outside of the quaint little village of Mossingham, that sheep, Shaun (voiced by Justin Fletcher), and his flock are secretly growing prize pumpkins for the big upcoming Halloween festivities. The crop is looking fantastic until the Farmer (John Sparkes) crashes through the patch while trying to ask the pretty local veterinarian (Nina Sosanya) to the town’s big Country and Western-themed dance, the “Halloween Hoedown”. It’s a gloopy gourd massacre, but the tiniest sheep, Timmy (Fletcher, again), saves the seeds. Ah, but Shaun has an idea. He discovers an old, dusty science book for kids, which inspires him to create a salve cream to supercharge and stimulate the seeds. Scrambling to find a container for his formula, Shaun grabs an empty bottle of hair growth gel from the Farmer. The pumpkins are swelling up, but the Farmer, wanting to restore his lush locks for the vet, uses the “quick-grow-goo” on his shiny pate. And it works on him, too. Ah, too well! Soon, he’s covered in hair, resembling a sasquatch. When the townfolk spot him, they immediately go into angry and scared “mob mode”, complete with torches and pitchforks. Shaun and his sheep pals have to rescue him and provide a cure before he’s shipped off to “Bigfoot Island”, while also dealing with those now gargantuan orange behemoths that threaten to destroy the farm and the village.
Though I’ve listed some voice actors, this funny flick is basically told in pantomime, harkening back to those olden, golden days of silent screen comedies. Their lines are basically gibberish and accented “mumbles”. And that’s what is showcased here: the superb visual design, from the main characters to the lush backgrounds (a great early gag involves a false painted bit of scenery which had me fooled). The always-blinking eyes are so expressive, paired with the superb physical acting of everyone (terrific “poses” abound). Happily, the “tactile” qualities of this variant of “claymation” isn’t completely “smoothed over” with too many pixels (as with the greats like Ray Harryhausen, there’s the feeling of the figures being gently guided by human hands). It all blends, thanks to the witty, satirical script by Mark Burton and Giles Pilbrow and the directing team of Steve Cox and Matthew Walker, based on the TV series begun in 2007 by Nick Park and Bob Baker. All the classic monster movie tropes are given their due. Shaun goes into full “mad scientist” mode, as a mix of Baron Frankenstein and Doctor Jekyll, with appropriate lighting effects. And the people of the village seem more Transylvanian than British (love the obnoxious “influencer”). There’s even a brief segment done in classic 2D animation with a touch of finely inked children’s book illustration. This is truly excellent “all-ages” entertainment, with sumptuous sight gags along with the parody bits for the elders, and a brisk 80-minute runtime for the “wee ones” (since it’s not too scary, this might make a great “first movie in a theatre experience”). After the triumph of the last Wallace & Gromit romp a couple of years ago, this zany comic adventure reminds us of the joyous cinematic gems from Aardman’s awesome artisans. So, yes, SHAUN THE SHEEP: THE BEAST OF MOSSY BOTTOM is far, far from “baaad”. It’s an animation sensation.
4 out of 4
SHAUN THE SHEEP: THE BEAST OF MOSSY BOTTOM is now playing in select theatres
