Paula Hammond - Features EditorShaun the Sheep, like Wallace & Gromit, exists in a rose-tinted neverwhere, free from iPads, iPhones and—one suspects—indoor toilets and central heating. It’s a world where kids still wear short trousers and spend their Summers with scuffed knees drinking lashings of ginger beer. A world where penguins are super villains, dogs are under-appreciated sidekicks and Lancastrian terraces are hotbeds of intrigue and passion. Fortunately, for those of us who share Aardman Animation’s wonderfully skewed world vision, Farmageddon is 86-minutes of pure joy.
It’s a bit scary to realise that the little sheep with the big attitude is now 25-years-old, having made his debut in the Aardman short, A Close Shave, way back in 1995. He has since become the star of his own series and was voted the nation’s most popular children’s TV character in 2014.
The secret to Shaun’s success has been keeping it simple. Shaun is dialogue free and peopled—or should that be sheeped—with character archetypes that are easy to recognise and even easier to love.
The story sees strange lights over Mossingham herald the arrival of a mystery visitor from far, far away. Cue tons of tongue-in-cheek references to everything from Star Trek, to Alien,
The decision to stick to the same dialogue-free format of the TV shorts for a full-length movie is brave to say the least. However it works well, with music providing a surprisingly appropriate and humorous commentary to the action.
The plot is perhaps a little too involved for the tinies, with gags that often seem aimed more at mums, dads, and the grandparents, than pre-schoolers. But the pace is upbeat, without being hyper. The humour is juvenile rather than puerile and considering that it’s us oldies who are likely to buying the DVD and blu-rays, the grown-up smirks are very welcome.
There are also plenty of those important educational elements that responsible parents look for when choosing films to share with their children. Things like the the importance of friendship, of doing the right thing, and always following your heart. Oh, and never painting pigs blue and trying to pass them off as aliens. They’re not going to fool anyone.
Aardman have a knack for making the everyday epic. Who needs caped-crusaders when you can have flocks of fun with hero that’s best ba-aa none? Ewe’ll love it.
