It’s August. If summer was just a weekend, this month would obviously be Sunday – everybody was working for the weekend, but now they’re scrambling back for the weekdays. The cinema’s release slate is merely a reaction to this; the freshness of the summer movie season is becoming stale, and fall awards season that follows is hotly anticipated. August is the in-between that sometimes produces modest hits but also a lot of releases that are forgotten since audiences are preoccupied with societal transitions such as a new school year. While much of the film discussion this past week has been pointing and laughing and opining at what went wrong with Fantastic Four, a worthy film has fallen through the cracks at the U.S. box office despite a wide release. It’s a treat from the UK, who are seriously on a roll when it comes to family films recently between this and Paddington.
Shaun the Sheep reminds me of a film school application, namely the one at the establishment I studied at. In it, an applicant must contain a short film that adequately conveys him or her, but without any words whatsoever. Sounds hard, but every student application I saw just made it look easy. So does the cartoon in question, which exists in the absence of any formal spoken language.
The plot involves the titular character and his flock planning a great escape from their farm lifestyle – one they actually enjoy, but nonetheless grow fatigued of. However, while their escape is ultimately successful, it comes as a catch-22: their farmer… and just go with this… is accidentally flung into town, develops amnesia, and becomes a hipster barber. The flock of sheep then adapt to urban life while attempting to recover their old master – all while evading the vicious animal control specialist.
Aardman’s signature stop-motion animation has never looked better or more detailed.
Shaun himself is a classic cartoon character. He originally appeared in the 1995 Wallace and Gromit short A Close Shave, but the film is actually more directly related to the TV series of the same name. The danger of a spinoff is that certain characters sometimes don’t make for compelling solo stories, but not the case with Shaun. He’s dastardly, fun, and above all lovable in the vein of Bugs Bunny or Rocky & Bullwinkle. The rest of the flock doesn’t really have the same level of personality, except for the adorable youngling.
The new film is a short but sweet delight, and the key to its charm is its absolute simplicity. That’s not to say the film is minimalist, per se; Aardman’s signature stop-motion animation has never looked better or more detailed. But one example of the skillful straightforwardness is the taciturn sound design, in which the characters only speak gibberish. A bizarre creative choice that somehow works – demonstrating how unnecessary words are in such a medium as inherently visual and ornate as the animated feature. Furthermore, the humor and jokes are quick and ruthlessly funny – but always good-natured. It’s about as hilarious as Trainwreck is, but without resorting to the ribald. It’s refreshing to laugh so hearty. So much of what works in Shaun the Sheep could adequately be regressed to “less is more”, but that wouldn’t do justice to how clever the gags are here.
Also, a special mention goes to Tim Wheeler of the band Ash. His original song “Feels Like Summer” is a much better song than most that get nominated for Globes and Oscars. Not like it will help its chances, but it’s an irresistible power pop tune that serves a sweetly diegetic purpose within the story. Just wait until you hear it performed by “The Baa Baa Shop Quintet”.
This is a welcome return to form for Aardman Studios, even if the creative visionaries behind the studio’s greatest achievements, Peter Lord and Nick Park, are only executive producer here. Co-directors Richard Starzak and Mark Burton have crafted a vivid ride that holds its own against the company’s best animated features, Chicken Run and The Curse of the Were Rabbit. Just like with Pixar, Aardman made 2015 a time to put themselves back on the map and make their best contribution to the world in years.
Shaun the Sheep is now playing in theaters.
