Shaun the Sheep Movie

In my opinion, Shaun the Sheep, the TV show, is the best thing Aardman have ever done. Fiendishly funny, inventive and almost surreal in its enjoyment levels, adults will be able to enjoy it too. Shaun isn't Gromit, but he's a good character and here he stars in his own movie. He, the flock and the sheepdog go into the city to rescue their Farmer. This is an old premise for a film of this type, although new things are done with it and the city rendered in glorious Claymation never stops being fun to look at. Visually it's a very clever film and as it's stop motion it never feels artificial. Shaun the Sheep Movie isn't a profound film and it's all about the humour, which it delivers on. With unpredictable and bitingly effective jokes, clever slapstick and an atmosphere of unrestrained glee, this offers charm in spades and the laughs don't really stop flowing. A scene which occurs in a restaurant is one of those moments where you wish they could pause the film for a moment so that you can stop laughing and regain your composure.

It's not flawless though. While this won't bother many, some poor continuity to the TV show, such as there being fewer sheep than normal and the Farmer being fond of the sheep in an overly sentimental manner can be irritating. The music is a bit jarring, and some of the jokes are a little broad and some of the set pieces are too threatening. The truth is, short TV shows being stretched to fit a feature length running time often stretches a simple premise beyond breaking point. This doesn't quite happen here, but the film runs out of gas before the end and it's not quite as inventive as say, The Wrong Trousers or A Close Shave. There are plenty of laughs, but they rarely reach the levels of hilarity the TV series would often produce. STSM is a good animated film and certainly worth seeing over many of the other films currently in cinemas and it's a good laugh for the whole family. However, it's not quite what it could have been, but it strikes an 8 on the laugh o meter.

7/10