Composite Score: 82.17

Starring: Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Omid Djalili, Richard Webber, Kate Harbour, Tim Hands, and Andy Nyman

Directors: Mark Burton and Richard Starzak

Writers: Mark Burton and Richard Starzak

Genres: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy

MPAA Rating: PG for rude humor

Box Office: $106.21 million worldwide

Why should you Watch This Film?

                Shaun the Sheep Movie is the film debut of the Claymation character Shaun the Sheep, created by Nick Park. It follows Shaun, his fellow sheep, the farmer, and Bitzer (the farm dog) as they go on an accidental adventure away from the farm in the Big City. It’s a delightful family romp full of visual gags and pretty fast-paced kid-friendly action. Its pacing keeps the audience from ever getting too fed up with its occasional childishness, and its messages about found family and the need for a break make it a quality watch. It is certainly a solid way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?

                Shaun the Sheep Movie is undoubtedly a family film, designed with children in mind as its primary target audience. This is not to say that everything in it is just for kids or that it contains nothing of value, just that it is probably a more rewarding watch with younger viewers along for the ride. Some of the film’s humor, in particular, will land better with younger audiences (e.g., fart jokes) than with older audiences, but I still found myself laughing at other parts. I guess what I’m trying to say is to tailor your expectations and not to expect a higher quality Pixar or Miyazaki film.

So wait, why should you Watch This Film?

                For one, as is usually the case with stop-motion, Shaun the Sheep Movie’s animation is incredible. The Claymation characters and sets consistently emote and move and contain intricate details that reward a close viewing. Movements and cuts never feel unnatural, and it matches up well against most computer animated films in terms of visual quality (with stylization taken into account, of course).

                I also believe that this film’s messages are particularly necessary and relevant in a modern context. The first has to do with family/friendship and the concept of found family, showcased in the farmer’s relationship with the sheep and Bitzer. Their story comes full circle from the flashback montage at the film’s beginning to the routine of the regular world to the farmer’s memory loss to their final coming together when confronting the animal control man at the film’s climax. Throughout all of it, there are lessons about the power of love, forgiveness, and the importance of believing in the people you love even when they seem to have forgotten themselves. Coinciding with this positive message of caring for others is the message that sets the whole film into motion – the need for a break. The mundane nature of Shaun’s day-to-day (and everyone else’s) frustrates the sheep at the start of the film and leads them to seek a vacation of sorts, against the machinations of both Bitzer and the farmer. Though the vacation does not go at all according to plan, the break from everyday life ends up working out for the better of everyone, not just the sheep, by the time credits roll, offering a reminder to the audience to take a break and to appreciate what made them get into their day-to-day routine in the first place. Sometimes we need to get away to remember what made us like it all so much in the first place.

                Positive and necessary messages set against a fast-paced story and high-quality animation make Shaun the Sheep Movie worthy of a place among the Greatest Films of All Time, despite its overtly childish nature. The Claymation film should be a hit among the younger audiences and has something to offer its older audiences as well. Check this one out streaming through Epix or DirecTV when you get the chance.