13 February 2015 Film of Choice at The Plaza Dorchester This Aftenoon - Shaun The Sheep. I would just like to point out that I was the only adult there without a child.....or maybe I was the only child without an adult!!!!!! Nick Park and his team have done it again. This was classic Aardman animation, with our old pal Shaun. Bored with his mundane life Shaun and his sheepy friends engineer a way to have a day off but all goes drastically wrong when the farmer ends up in the big city with memory loss. It's up to the animals to save him and what follows is a madcap series of events where nobody questions sheep dressed as humans or any of the antics that occur. Completely without dialogue the story is carried along by the excellent score and gesticulations and a gaggle of bleats, grunts and other indiscriminate noises. As we know animation these days caters for all ages and with various movie references included the adults were definitely laughing at different times to the children. Watching some good old stop motion animation is a very pleasant way to pass the time.

"Shaun the Sheep the Movie" is a very enjoyable and completely inconsequential film that was also, interestingly enough, Oscar- nominated for Best Animated Feature. When I say inconsequential I am not insulting it but am talking more about the plot....as there really isn't a lot of it. Instead, it's more just an excuse for the animators to have fun and throw in 1001 cute little jokes.

When the film begins, the animals on the farm are happy and nothing unusual appears to be in the future. However, when the sheep all conspire to work together to give themselves a day off, things go haywire and their farmer, amazingly, gets taken to the big city. The guy ends up getting a head injury and has amnesia* and the sheep and sheepdog hurry to the city to rescue him. Unfortunately, there's a totally insane animal control officer who insists of getting them...even once they've arrived safely back at the farm.

So is the film any good? Yes. The Aardman folks did their usual terrific stop-motion work and the writers did a wonderful job keeping the jokes coming and the viewer interested. Kids and adults should like it. However, it's also something that is nice but not especially life-changing or amazing. Well done and cute.

As a fan of Aardman and the show, Shaun the Sheep Movie was even better than expected and was a real delight. It may not be Aardman at their very best(Wallace and Gromit is still their best work) and it is not quite as good as the show, but there is so much here that will please fans and it ticks almost all the right boxes for a family film to work.

Shaun the Sheep Movie for my liking did drag ever so slightly towards the end and more could have been done with the villain, who(again for personal tastes) lacked personality and lacked a back-story that felt compelling or fresh, instead coming over as a clichéd and underdeveloped stereotype.

The film, thankfully not feeling at all like an extended episode of the show like it could easily have been, wisely keeps the story simple without being simplistic, sure it's not much new but it doesn't try to do too much, it doesn't try too hard and not one component here shows lack of effort. It is constantly cute without being forced and it is brimming with charm and energy, and it's almost certainly without heart. It even incorporates some drama with the Farmer, which is quite affecting and not over-sentimental. Having no dialogue aside from grumbling and animal noises was also a wise move, instead letting the story, gags and characters do all the work. The show also had no dialogue and definitely worked without it. What Shaun the Sheep Movie also does so brilliantly is how much appeal it has for both children and adults, children will delight in the characters and will have no trouble following the story and it is never juvenile for adults either, who should love the humour as much as children will.

When it comes to the gags and the humour, they are hilarious and true in style to the gags in the show. Again like the show not much new but they are genuinely witty and funny as well as timed to perfection and conveyed absolutely beautifully. Scenes that stood out were the sheep in disguise and the riot that was the restaurant scene, which were on par with the episode when the sheep go out for a pizza in the show and has to be seen to be believed, and in a very good way. There are a few fart and burp jokes, but they are not overused or drawn out(in fact they are relatively brief) and don't come over as immature or inappropriate. The characters are just as delightful as in the show, Shaun has lost none of his endearment and is just adorable for a character that never speaks. The other sheep are hardly devoid of personality and Blitzer is still a very funny character.

The music score is jaunty and I didn't ever find it that jarring, the main theme is incredibly catchy and doesn't fall into the trap of being annoying for a theme that re-occurs a lot. But the best thing about Shaun the Sheep Movie is the wonderful animation with its vibrant, bold colours, immaculately detailed backgrounds and well-modelled character designs.

Overall, Shaun the Sheep Movie is a delightfully entertaining film with something for everybody. For fans of the show it is unmissable. 8/10 Bethany Cox