Dustin: 4.5 of 5 stars Nick: 4 of 5 stars Average: 4.25 of 5 stars (Live canary)
Dustin: Shaun the Sheep Movie brings the beloved BBC claymation shorts to the big screen. After the sheep’s antics cause their farmer to end up in the Big City with memory loss, Shaun the Sheep and Bitzer the Dog lead a team of plucky sheep to rescue their farmer.
Nick: I’ve never seen the show, but the movie is virtually flawless. I say “virtually” because the only thing that can be considered a flaw is that it’s aimed at children, which is obvious when the doctor writes on his sheet “Memory Loss” instead of “amnesia” or some other term for a certain type of memory loss. Though it might be aimed at children, adults will still find the whole movie enjoyable and worth repeated viewings. This might alleive some parents from having to watch Frozen yet again--that is once it comes out on DVD.
Dustin: I discovered Shaun the Sheep maybe a year ago through my daughter. She tends to get her hands on her mom’s Kindle Fire and somehow finds these videos on YouTube (the 2-year-old clearly understands the technology better than me). She was watching them all the time and saying “Sha-sheep, baaaaa!” So I thought, What is this crap? and watched some of the videos with her, like a responsible parent. I’m sure I can think of other instances where I’ve been a responsible parent, too. I immediately found the show charming, and eagerly took her to see this movie opening weekend.
I praise the movie for being able to keep a 2-year-old’s attention for almost 90 minutes. For adults, it is a work of art. I am getting burned out on all the computer-animated films of the past 20 years, so seeing a good ol’ fashioned claymation film was like a breath of fresh air.
Nick: All the comedic bits in the movie ranged from amusing to hilarious. My favorite involves the crazy-eyed dog in the pound who won’t stop eyeing down Bitzer, and during the credits there is another funny bit involving the dog! Another one would be when Shaun is trying to get a duck to help him with something, but has to bribe him first. The scene is shot like a drug deal, but its contents are pieces of bread. The duck looks through each piece and he demands more for whatever his undertaking is, and Shaun proceeds to take one more piece that he had hidden and puts it in the pile.
Dustin: The movie is charming throughout. Something about the appearance of the sheep just puts a smile on your face, and you’re in a mood to laugh. Even the lowest-common-denominator jokes get a chuckle, where the same joke would get a frown or a groan if it were in the new Vacation movie.
Nick: I think because when a character farts in this movie the reaction by Shaun is yuck, but then he gets on with whatever action his character was undertaking. If that was in a movie like Vacation the actor would make obscene faces and the farts would be drawn out and played for the most laughs (when they don’t realize that less is more--sometimes).
Dustin: My only criticism is the plot felt over familiar, although I can’t quite recall a movie with a similar plot, I felt like I had seen it before and knew where it was heading. But as a device to deliver amusing sight gags to children, it works.
Dustin: The movie is charming throughout. Something about the appearance of the sheep just puts a smile on your face, and you’re in a mood to laugh. Even the lowest-common-denominator jokes get a chuckle, where the same joke would get a frown or a groan if it were in the new Vacation movie.
Nick: I think because when a character farts in this movie the reaction by Shaun is yuck, but then he gets on with whatever action his character was undertaking. If that was in a movie like Vacation the actor would make obscene faces and the farts would be drawn out and played for the most laughs (when they don’t realize that less is more--sometimes).
Dustin: My only criticism is the plot felt over familiar, although I can’t quite recall a movie with a similar plot, I felt like I had seen it before and knew where it was heading. But as a device to deliver amusing sight gags to children, it works.
Nick: It was stupendous, and I’ll probably see it again within the week. I wish the sheep were drawn a little different from one another. Only Shaun and the baby stood out, every other sheep was background, which is fine, but since they show up throughout the whole film I think it would have been better to differentiate them more.
Dustin: Apparently all the sheep have names. I think they looked different enough. I can’t tell one real sheep from another.
Nick: But it’s an animated film and reality is not what is strived for! I assumed all the sheep have names and so did the dog on the show, but I had no clue his name was Bitzer until you mentioned it earlier. I’m guessing there was a food bowl with his name or something.
Dustin: It was in the opening “credits.” I didn’t know the dog’s name until then.
I’d recommend this movie to kids, families and lonely adults (sorry!). Kids deserve movies that don’t treat them like mindless sheep who’ll be happy with anything. That’s why I wholeheartedly recommend Shaun the Sheep Movie.
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