If you like stop-motion animation, Shaun the Sheep is worth checking out. If you happen to like stop-motion animation and fart jokes, well, this movie’s going to make you feel like a pig in mud. And if you don’t like stop-motion animation, ask yourself why, and see if Shaun the Sheep makes you squeal with delight. Because this movie is simply beautiful to watch.
Having tried to make a stop-motion re-enactment of the war of 1812 for history class one year, using GI Joes, I have an appreciation for how difficult it is to pull off something passable. Getting to a flawless finished product like Shaun the Sheep must be insanely difficult. The effort is all on the screen and it’s marvelous. This clearly was a labour of love for all involved at Aardman Animations.
As for the story, it’s strictly for kids, but the target audience is going to be as happy as a dog with two tails (as they were at our packed Saturday morning screening). The interesting thing is there are no actual words being used by any of these characters, it’s all just noise. Minions did a simila
r thing and did it well, and I’d say Shaun the Sheep one ups Minions because not even the humans speak English (which is ironic for a movie coming out of the UK) yet the story still seemed clear and easy to follow even for the younger audience members.
There are lots of laughs for kids here but fewer for adults. A few gags are universal (counting sheep in particular) but it seemed that the writers were just throwing the occasional bone to the expected parental crowd rather than trying to make this movie appeal directly to all ages. As Jay has mentioned in the past, that across-the-board accessibility expectation for animation is a product of Pixar’s excellence that didn’t traditionally exist. I won’t hold the lack of adult focus against Shaun the Sheep, because it’s a throwback by nature and as a kids movie it hits the bullseye.
I give Shaun the Sheep nine farm animal references out of ten.
ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES 
An “re-enactment of the war of 1812” using GI-Joe! Now THAT Tubularsock would have liked to have seen.
LikeLike
Trust me, you did not want to see what my group came up with. All we got from half a day of work was 10 seconds of a guy “walking” (it looked more like sliding) up a small hill. Presentation day did not go well, to say the least.
LikeLike
You’re absolutely right. This is no movie for adults, unfortunately, but I did love the cute little sheep. And I love seeing all the work that goes into each frame.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I really love getting a sense of the sets.
LikeLiked by 2 people
It’s such finicky work, I’m not sure I could hack it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
p.s. Did you really attempt the GI Joe film, and is there evidence?
LikeLike
There’s no evidence of the GI Joe film. I am pretty sure the VHS tape was incinerated by my history teacher’s hatred and disgust. But it was really attempted by my friends and I the day before the project was due, and we worked for a solid few hours before giving up and deciding to play Nintendo instead.
LikeLike
That sounds like the Sean I know!
LikeLike
Great pics, Jay! That really gives a sense of how much effort went into this film, creating sets and models and then painstakingly animating them one frame at a time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really like Wallace and Gromit so I know I will like this one. I am very pleased you went to see this one!!I am rather amazed, actually. Thanks for your kind comment on my door post. 🙂 gotta go to sleep so will be back tomorrow or Saturday. Have a great weekend, Jay.
LikeLike
Wallace and Gromit is the best! I love that one so, so much.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s incredible how they do that! I hope my kids enjoy it 🙂
LikeLike
The kids in the audience were the best part for me – literally screaming with laughter, yelling “Haha, underwears!”
I guess some jokes are just super reliable across a certain age group.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, and there is nothing like children laughter!! 🙂
LikeLike
very nice 🙂 lovely pictures
LikeLike
When I was 12, my best friend at the time and I took all of our superhero action figures and made a 30 minute stop motion movie. It took us an entire weekend, but it was so much fun and so worth it.
I can’t wait to see this!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really love… I mean, my kids really love Shaun the Sheep. They’re really looking forward to watching it with me, they’ve been told.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, do you guys know the show then?
LikeLike
Yep, although I’m not sure how widely-known it is. It was on in the morning on Saturdays. The kids thought it was really funny. I work on Saturdays now, so I’m not sure if it’s still on or not. Actually, my favorite character is the farmer, not Shaun. He kind of reminds me of myself these days.
LikeLike
I’d never seen nor heard of the show myself. But the farmer does feature heavily in this, including some flashback scenes that I rather enjoyed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, sounds like one I’ll definitely have to see at some point, I think.
LikeLike
I like some stop-motion animation (i.e. Chicken Run) but not sure about fart jokes. I might give it a rent though, the sheep does look funny!
LikeLike
I love this movie. Maybe because I used to watch Wallace and Gromit when I did a baby sitting job during my study year. The kids were crazy in love with Wallace and Gromit and it’s a treat for me too 😀
LikeLike
I love Wallace, I love Gromit, and I love CHEEEEEEESE!
LikeLike
I miss these types of stories and animation style. Sigh I miss tv of past!
LikeLike
Pingback: Awards Season Kickoff | ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES
Pingback: Oscar Nominations 2016 | ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES