If there's one thing I think most people can agree on, when it comes to films and animations as a whole, it doesn't get much better than Aardman. With Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run, Pirates in an Adventure with Scientists, Arthur Christmas and Flushed Away, Aardman Animations has carved out a trail of consistently high quality animation features. With their most recent release, Aardman has two challenges. Firstly is that this film is based on a well tried and tested children's TV series formula; one that has not only never seen a feature length release before, but I've never actually seen. Secondly is that this formula consists of no dialogue being uttered whatsoever. With all this to think about, does Aardman's latest effort, Shaun the Sheep Movie, meet the impeccably high standards set in prior releases, AND without any of Aardman's famously witty dialogue to assist it?
Shaun the Sheep Movie finds Shaun and the rest of his flock tired of the same old routine day in and day out. With patience wearing thin, Shaun takes matters into his own hands so the flock can have a simple day off. However, the results of this ploy brings Shaun into the big city; a situation which does not go unnoticed by a scheming Animal Control Agent…
The obvious positive is the animations visual impact. Aardman have yet to make a wrong step visually. Shaun and his flock look adorable, huggable and downright brilliant all round; obviously the style of animation Aardman specialises in gives their characters a physicality and realness that computers just haven't figured out yet. The sets are amazing with farms, cities, fields, roads and interiors all looking as wonderful as they did when Aardman began, only much much more precise and perfected. Everything visually is wonderful; there are a couple of chase sequences that stand out as visually amazing. You can tell how far the animation team has come purely from the brilliant sequences they come up with. You can also tell that the team still has to put in such a huge effort and when you're filming in stop motion, the effort really shines through on screen.
Another set of positives are the characters themselves. While the sheep look and act similar, they all have their own character traits. We have schemers, imbeciles, children, heavy eaters and a plethora of differing yet well matched personalities. While not a single character speaks any definable words, they say everything required of them through their beautifully realised facial expressions and body movements. Aardman have realised their cast and characterisation is dependant on the strength of the visual storytelling and they hit it out the park in every aspect of this.
The storytelling overall is fantastic. There are laugh out load moments for all age groups, with some very cheeky pop culture references for the adults including but not limited to Breaking Bad, The Shawshank Redempion and Silence of the Lambs. The jokes are refreshingly on point and not a single one of them is vocal, which makes the comedy here very special. The lack of dialogue gives this film a huge pallet of visual gags to explore, and it comes across much better than any dialogue would have done. A personal highlight for me would be an impromptu musical number… believe me, you'll understand if you see it. There are also some very heartwarming, almost tear inducing moments, but this actually brings me to one of my main criticisms of the film:
Aardman have given us some very effective emotional scenes, Wallace and Gromit had a few, Chicken Run and several other films had real heart wrenching moments. What Shaun the Sheep Movie does that the other Aardman films don't is be a little too aware of it's primary audience, and not in a good way. Where you would not think of films like Chicken Run or Pirates IAAWS as strictly kids films, Shaun the Sheep Movie doesn't allow it's heavier scenes to hit the mark quite as right as they do. I have no trouble admitting that one or two scenes were very close to getting the tears going, but they would change it back to the safety net of drama or comedy instead of giving the emotional payoff of what these characters are feeling. Arthur Christmas cut the emotion off with comedy brilliantly and hilariously but it seems almost like a fear of pushing the mark rather than anything else on this occasion. This was disappointing since films like The Iron Giant and Fox and the Hound and even previous Aardman releases have proven that animated films aimed at children can still have serious emotional scenes and let them play out completely.
Part of what made this film so emotionally effective and what allowed the lack of dialogue to work so well was the music. The soundtrack is really effective, with all the main themes being based around a great song called Feels Like Summer, written especially for the film by Tim Wheeler. Ilan Eshkeri's orchestral adaptations of the melodies are beautifully utilised for not only the comedy but the emotional scenes also. While the music may not be original in terms of progressions or timbre in the way that Birdman did, it really hits the marks that the film requires and a lot of the melodies are very hummable and will likely get stuck in your head for quite a while. All in all a great soundtrack.
Overall Shaun the Sheep Movie is a very welcome addition to the Aardman filmography. With comedy and visual gags that will make all ages laugh, beautiful visuals and memorable music, this is a film that will charm the pants off of most viewers. While there are definitely some set backs with the emotional scenes and some gags may come across as too childish, there is much to enjoy for all viewers with cheeky references in spades and to top it off for any parents who feel this is not their thing, the running time is tiny!
For those feeling sheepish, this is far from a baaaaad film (sorry).
Shaun the Sheep Movie finds Shaun and the rest of his flock tired of the same old routine day in and day out. With patience wearing thin, Shaun takes matters into his own hands so the flock can have a simple day off. However, the results of this ploy brings Shaun into the big city; a situation which does not go unnoticed by a scheming Animal Control Agent…
The obvious positive is the animations visual impact. Aardman have yet to make a wrong step visually. Shaun and his flock look adorable, huggable and downright brilliant all round; obviously the style of animation Aardman specialises in gives their characters a physicality and realness that computers just haven't figured out yet. The sets are amazing with farms, cities, fields, roads and interiors all looking as wonderful as they did when Aardman began, only much much more precise and perfected. Everything visually is wonderful; there are a couple of chase sequences that stand out as visually amazing. You can tell how far the animation team has come purely from the brilliant sequences they come up with. You can also tell that the team still has to put in such a huge effort and when you're filming in stop motion, the effort really shines through on screen.
Another set of positives are the characters themselves. While the sheep look and act similar, they all have their own character traits. We have schemers, imbeciles, children, heavy eaters and a plethora of differing yet well matched personalities. While not a single character speaks any definable words, they say everything required of them through their beautifully realised facial expressions and body movements. Aardman have realised their cast and characterisation is dependant on the strength of the visual storytelling and they hit it out the park in every aspect of this.
The storytelling overall is fantastic. There are laugh out load moments for all age groups, with some very cheeky pop culture references for the adults including but not limited to Breaking Bad, The Shawshank Redempion and Silence of the Lambs. The jokes are refreshingly on point and not a single one of them is vocal, which makes the comedy here very special. The lack of dialogue gives this film a huge pallet of visual gags to explore, and it comes across much better than any dialogue would have done. A personal highlight for me would be an impromptu musical number… believe me, you'll understand if you see it. There are also some very heartwarming, almost tear inducing moments, but this actually brings me to one of my main criticisms of the film:
Aardman have given us some very effective emotional scenes, Wallace and Gromit had a few, Chicken Run and several other films had real heart wrenching moments. What Shaun the Sheep Movie does that the other Aardman films don't is be a little too aware of it's primary audience, and not in a good way. Where you would not think of films like Chicken Run or Pirates IAAWS as strictly kids films, Shaun the Sheep Movie doesn't allow it's heavier scenes to hit the mark quite as right as they do. I have no trouble admitting that one or two scenes were very close to getting the tears going, but they would change it back to the safety net of drama or comedy instead of giving the emotional payoff of what these characters are feeling. Arthur Christmas cut the emotion off with comedy brilliantly and hilariously but it seems almost like a fear of pushing the mark rather than anything else on this occasion. This was disappointing since films like The Iron Giant and Fox and the Hound and even previous Aardman releases have proven that animated films aimed at children can still have serious emotional scenes and let them play out completely.
Part of what made this film so emotionally effective and what allowed the lack of dialogue to work so well was the music. The soundtrack is really effective, with all the main themes being based around a great song called Feels Like Summer, written especially for the film by Tim Wheeler. Ilan Eshkeri's orchestral adaptations of the melodies are beautifully utilised for not only the comedy but the emotional scenes also. While the music may not be original in terms of progressions or timbre in the way that Birdman did, it really hits the marks that the film requires and a lot of the melodies are very hummable and will likely get stuck in your head for quite a while. All in all a great soundtrack.
Overall Shaun the Sheep Movie is a very welcome addition to the Aardman filmography. With comedy and visual gags that will make all ages laugh, beautiful visuals and memorable music, this is a film that will charm the pants off of most viewers. While there are definitely some set backs with the emotional scenes and some gags may come across as too childish, there is much to enjoy for all viewers with cheeky references in spades and to top it off for any parents who feel this is not their thing, the running time is tiny!
For those feeling sheepish, this is far from a baaaaad film (sorry).