A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE FARMAGEDDON - Studio Canal

Critically acclaimed Aardman follow up their 2014 hit Shaun the Sheep Movie with the aptly titled A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, which in itself is a spin-off to the long-standing iconic duo of Wallace and Gromit. Aardman needed a reliable commercial hit after their disappointing and commercially divisive animated adventure Early Man— released in 2018 — failed to ignite an audience or any form of success. Their latest feature just might be the cure to solve all their problems.

Going back to the well is a dangerous exploitation of one’s own material. It can go one of two ways: an enormous success or a regurgitated ploy that destroys a franchise. Thankfully this Will Becher and Richard Phelan directed animated feature, the last animated stop motion film to be released in the 2010s, is a roaring success. A harmless, quite affectionate and loving rendition of the classic alien inquisitor storyline with strong, pleasing homages to classic moments in science-fiction cinema.

The animation style and aesthetic is breathtakingly sculptured and perfected to the point of utter beauty. The ideas and design of even the smallest amount of detail have its own life and vibrancy, with a terrific colour palette to boast. Interestingly, the film throughout is more or less a silent venture, an element that is slightly hit and miss. The hit is that the film results in a sole provision and focus on the visual elements that deserve the audiences full focus. The film also suffices without the inclusion of notoriously over-familiar British actors and actresses, a problem that severely rocked Early Man. The miss is that the scenes of "communication" are incredibly elongated and stretched without dialogue, resulting in several sequences that drag on a little too much — especially in the films first act.

That being said, the affection and love for the material ooze from the screen throughout. Just from the first few frames, it is clear to understand and identify the passion put into this work and the result is another weird, wacky but undeniably fun chapter in the filmography of Aardman Studios.

Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon is released October 18, 2019.