“Shaun the Sheep” hits theaters this Friday.
An animated movie based on the show, about a sheep named Shaun (hence the name) and his sheep friends. The movie, from the creators of Wallace and Gromit, is a spin off of the franchise, and also features stop-motion animation. This film however, eliminated all language and focused on presenting the plot with only picture, sounds, and gibberish, leaving the audience’s imagination to fill in the words as the story unveiled itself.
Shaun the Sheep explored the boredom of the farm animals, doing the same thing every single day, interacting with the same animals, the same farmer and the same dog. Although they loved their owner, they hated that they had to follow the same schedule and routine day in and day out. However, while every animal kept following the cycle, Shaun kept searching for a retreat, until he finally spots an opportunity to take a break and get away from the farm. The animals escape the farm in hopes to take a day off but end up in a hole; a hole which seems to keep getting deeper. It is up to Shaun and his sheep friends as well as their owner’s dog to put things back together and get back home before they are caught by the main antagonist of the film, the animal warden.
In addition to being a wonderful film that kids will enjoy, Shaun the Sheep is for everyone. The movie maintains its innocence, yet finds subtle touches that make it incredibly enjoyable for the adults as well. Shaun and his friends will touch almost every emotion. While watching you will laugh until your face hurts, wipe tears away and everything in between. The film teaches children the difference between leading and following (being a sheep, pun intended) and shows that sometimes you don’t need to go too far in order to change things up. We here at TheKnockturnal would highly recommend parents taking their children to see the film.