Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom
Aardman Animations’ “Shaun the Sheep” franchise of short films, TV series, video games, and the occasional theatrical movie is like the pre-tween version of “Wallace & Gromit.” Despite Oscar nominations for the two previous features — Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) and A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019) — it’s easy to dismiss Shaun as a Gromit knockoff: a nonverbal domesticated animal who’s much more clever than his human master. (Shaun first appeared in the Wallace & Gromit short A Close Shave in 1995, before starring in his own children’s TV series, beginning in 2007.)
But Shaun and his flock have their own mischievous appeal, living in an entirely nonverbal world that connects with younger viewers (and, one hopes, their parents and older siblings). Their newest adventure, The Beast of Mossy Bottom, is a Halloween yarn, set in motion when a brew Shaun has cooked up for another purpose accidentally turns the flock’s nameless Farmer into an orange-furred “beast.” Expect lots of pumpkins, amusing costumes, and sets and plot points borrowed (in a PG-rated way) from Frankenstein, as well as the usual snappy visual gags and frantic chase scenes. There’s also a sweet romantic subplot that has the Farmer crushed out on a resourceful lady Vet, who has to figure out that the Beast and the Farmer are one and the same.
At 80 minutes, The Beast is Shaun the Sheep’s shortest feature, but the running time feels just right — especially for the enrapt preschoolers at the showing I attended — and the story is action-packed and never flags. As always, there’s no need to decelerate for dialogue, since animals and humans alike communicate only with “vocal effects” — expressive sounds that mimic language but aren’t.
The story is silly, of course, but it’s entertaining and peppered with fun twists. The main reason for adults to see a Shaun the Sheep feature, though, is the animation. In this world of CG domination, Shaun and friends are still IRL puppets, brought to life via stop-motion animation on intricately hand-made miniature sets. Computers can imitate puppet animation, but the tangibility of real stop-motion is uniquely pleasing and, if done well, kind of magical.
No one does puppet animation better than Aardman, with a well-earned fistful of Oscar nominations and one win, for Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005). Targeted to families, The Beast of Mossy Bottom is not Aardman’s most resonant work, but the craftsmanship is still top-notch. (The directors are Matthew Walker and Steve Cox, both first-timers for theatrical features but with decades-long resumes, Walker as an director and Cox as a stop-motion animator.)
Once the film reaches streaming, parents who are subject to endless repeat viewings will no doubt be amused by discovering background details and gags that it’s easy to miss first time around. For example, do we think the bartender at the village’s Shine Inn is named Lloyd?
Grade: B. Rated PG. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Asheville Pizza and Brewing, Carolina Cinemark, and Regal Biltmore Grande.
(Photo: GKIDS)
