A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (Becher/Phelan, 2019)
I know everyone talks about Wallace & Gromit but for me the epitome of all Aardman’s claymation animation is Shaun the Sheep.
Farmageddon is the second feature film spin-off of the franchise and in it a UFO lands in Mossingham and the alien visitor inside eats all the pizza that Shaun and his flock had ordered to Mossy Bottom Farm for dinner (after he had been told off by sheepdog Blitzer for attempting a barbecue).
Shaun takes it upon himself to try and return the lost sightseer back to space and many subsequent adventures are had as they try and stay one step ahead of M.A.D. (the Ministry of Alien Detection).
Back in January 2020 I spoke about it with my old mate Emile Donovan on RNZ’s Summer Times show. Here’s a heavily edited version of some of what I said from the transcript:
It’s a real tonic I reckon, and because there’s essentially no language in it, really young kids can get into it and lots of young kids can feel kind of superior because their language skills are way better than anything that’s up on the screen.
And because there’s no language in it, it means you don’t have to fill it with celebrities! You know, you don’t have to have Brad Pitt playing a turkey just to get his name on the poster. There’s nobody famous in it. It’s the characters that do all the work. It’s the brilliant, brilliant work of the animators that do all the work.
There’s lots of visual puns for fans of science fiction movies, lots for the parents there. Lots for any fans of Aardman from way back if you if you remember the Wallace and Gromit films and you want to go back into that kind of world. I reckon it’s it’s definitely worth your time. It’s a pleasure from beginning to end and it is only one hour and 20 minutes long.
Also in that segment, Sam Mendes’ one-take WWI film 1917 and a mediation on the developments in the Star Wars franchise.
Where to watch A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Aotearoa: Streaming on Māori+ (until 23 September)
Australia: Streaming on Binge and Stan
Canada, Ireland & USA: Streaming on Netflix
UK: Streaming on Netflix, BBC iPlayer, ITVx and StudioCanal Presents
