Directors: Mark Burton, Richard Starzak

Voiced by: Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Richard Webber, Simon Greenall, Emma Tate and Omid Djalili  

In the midst of all the large-scale, harum-scarum animated movies being produced lately just to earn loads of cash, it is utterly refreshing to see an old school, down-to-earth movie about a sheep’s day out. Shaun the Sheep Movie is a silent stop-motion clay animated movie from the creators of Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run. It is an expansion of its hilarious show of the same name, which follows the adventures of Shaun, the leader of his flock.

Synopsis: Jaded by the repetitiveness of the life on farm and lack of anything significant happening in general, Shaun gets inspired from a tour bus passing by the farm and finally decides to have a day off. A string of unprecedented and hilarious events takes place which leads to the farmer getting accidentally rolled off the farm in his trailer and lands in ‘The Big City’. It is now up to Shaun and friends to find the farmer in the big city and bring him home.

Although the plot of the movie is fairly straightforward, it touches on several deeper themes – ranging from the relationship between a father and a son, to working with someone whom you do not get along with for the greater good. This film is targeted towards children but the themes it incorporates in this simple story through these wonderful characters makes it enjoyable for people belonging to all sorts of demographics. Yes, there are some awesome Breaking Bad, Silence of the Lambs and other movie references which will go over children’s heads, but those will not come in their way of enjoying the movie.

It does justice to all the characters and translates them exceptionally from a short 7 minute show to a full-fledged movie. The clay animation style of the movie breathes life into these inanimate puppets and makes them emote in extraordinary ways. All the animals are charming, cute, hilarious and at the same time the audience can sympathize with them when they hit rock-bottom during their amazing adventure.

Even though it is a kids movie, it is still extremely clever and detailed. The love and effort that the creators put into making this picture is clearly visible in every scene. A situation arises halfway through the movie where Shaun and Bitzer are thrown into an Animal Contention Unit (sort of an animal jail) and one dog hilariously keeps staring at them the entire time. This gag gets built up to a point where one just cannot stop laughing just by looking at this creepy dog and the final pay off for the joke is probably the cleverest thing that has been done in an animated movie in a very long time. Many such gags and detailed observations of humans and animals are featured in the movie, which will make you laugh throughout its duration.

The music of the movie is absolutely fantastic. Everything, from the background score to the vocals, is done extremely well and fits perfectly with its tone. Being a silent film without any dialogue, it relies heavily on the music. The outstanding marriage of the music and the visuals takes this movie to a whole new level of awesome. The best track from the movie is ‘Feels like Summer’ performed by Tim Wheeler. It effortlessly tells what this movie is all about with its charming tunes.

Like any other movie that has ever released, this flick is not without flaws. It has a fair share of imperfections which can easily be overlooked. The main setback of this movie is its rushed third act. It has a few emotional notes but they fail to impact one in the way they are meant to hit which ends the movie in an underwhelming way. That is the only dissatisfying aspect of the film, and uncovering any other flaw at this point would just be nitpicking – so that shall not even be discussed.

Summing it all up, Shaun the Sheep Movie will make you feel like you are a six-year-old again, with its charming characters and simple yet clever and emotional story.