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Shaun the Sheep Returns for Halloween Hijinks
Developing
In Short: The lovable sheep stars in a new film that balances silly fun with a touch of spooky.
In 'Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom,' the titular character, voiced by Justin Fletcher, transforms into a mad scientist for a Halloween-themed escapade at Mossy Bottom Farm.
The film cleverly taps into the growing demand for Halloween entertainment suitable for very young children, offering a balance of fun and fright that leans more towards the former.
The seasonal setting of the film highlights the increasing influence of American Halloween traditions in the UK, as seen in the preparations for the 'Halloween Hoedown.
As expected, the film delivers a series of well-timed gags that keep the audience engaged, making it a likely candidate for annual Halloween viewing for years to come.
What's still developing
- For us elders, it doesn’t feel like much time has passed at all: It’s business and chaos as usual at Mossy Bottom Farm, where the nights are drawing in, harvest season is upon us and our rebellious title character (voiced, which isn’t exactly the term for any of these nonverbal characters, by Justin Fletcher) turns mad scientist for a Halloween-time escapade, with results as wholesomely, giddily farcical as ever.
- The seasonal aspect is a canny one: There remains a relative shortage of quality spooky-season viewing for very small tots, and it’s easy to imagine “The Beast of Mossy Bottom” — fully on theme, but emphatically more silly than scary — becoming an October go-to for years to come.
- Popular on Variety It’s an indication of just how much the American commercial model of Halloween has infiltrated the U.K.
- It’s days before October 31st in this sleepy corner of the countryside and while its human inhabitants are gearing up for the annual “Halloween Hoedown” (again, not a combination of words any Englishman would have encountered until fairly recently), the frequently errant flock of Mossy Bottom has been proudly tending to their own secret pumpkin patch.
- But the “Shaun the Sheep” films have never been about the big picture, instead functioning on a joke-to-joke basis with an inordinately high hit rate.
- With feature first-timers Steve Cox and Matthew Walker (both vets of Shaun’s small-screen outings) at the helm, the practical execution of the Aardman cinematic universe still amazes: Each falling-domino setpiece is a marvel of handmade detailing and methodical choreography, geed up by the delightfully frantic orchestrations of Natalie Holt’s score.
Sources
- Varietylink