Aardman Animations, the British outfit responsible for the Wallace and Gromit films, delivers another highly enjoyable clay animation whose visual humor harks back to silent movie comedy. The title character, wanting a day off from the pasture, initiates a plan to deceive his beloved farmer and enable the livestock to sneak off the farm. After the plan backfires disastrously, the farmer losing his memory in an accident and winding up adrift in the big city, the animals embark on a mission to rescue him but cause mayhem wherever they go. The sight gags are so meticulously designed that they often recall Rube Goldberg inventions; much of the fun derives from seeing how the filmmakers pull off their elaborate comic scenarios. Mark Burton and Richard Starzak directed their own script.
Shaun the Sheep Movie
PG • 1 hour 25 min • 2015
