Shaun the Sheep Movie

Shaun the Sheep Movie is a 2015 British stop-motion animated adventure comedy film based on the television series Shaun the Sheep, created by Nick Park. The film follows Shaun and his flock into the big city to rescue their farmer, who found himself amnesiac there as a result of their mischief.

It was produced by Aardman Animations, and financed by StudioCanal in association with Anton Capital Entertainment,[5][7] with the former also distributing the film in the United Kingdom and several other European countries.[8] Richard Starzak and Mark Burton wrote and directed the film, with Ilan Eshkeri composing the music, while Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, and Omid Djalili provided the voices. The film premiered on 24 January 2015, at the Sundance Film Festival, and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 6 February 2015.

Shaun the Sheep Movie was nominated at the 88th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. It was also nominated in The 73rd Golden Globe Awards, BAFTA Awards and won in the Toronto Film Critics Awards for Best Animated Feature. It also earned five nominations at The Annie Awards including Best Animated Feature.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Music 4.1 Soundtrack 5 Release 5.1 Home media 6 Reception 6.1 Critical reception 6.2 Box office 6.3 Accolades 7 Sequel 8 References 9 External links

Plot
Shaun, a mischievous sheep living with his flock at Mossy Bottom Farm, is bored with the routine of life on the farm. One day, he concocts a plan to have a day away, by tricking the farmer into going back to sleep by counting his sheep repeatedly. However, the caravan in which they put the farmer to bed accidentally rolls away, taking him the entire way into the city. Bitzer, the farmer's dog, goes after him, ordering the sheep to stay on the farm until he returns.

The farmer receives a blow to the head and is hospitalized, where he is diagnosed with amnesia, and leaves the hospital. He wanders into a hair salon, where he cuts a celebrity's hair as if he was shearing a sheep. The celebrity loves it, which leads the farmer to be known as the mysterious hair stylist "Mr. X".

Meanwhile, the sheep find life impossible without the farmer, so Shaun sneaks on a bus to the city; the rest of the flock follow him on another bus. He manages to disguise them as people and they begin looking for the farmer, but Shaun is captured by Trumper, an over-zealous animal-control worker. Shaun is reunited with Bitzer in the animal lock-up, and with the help of a homeless dog named Slip, they escape. They find the farmer, but he does not recognize Shaun, who is heartbroken by his owner's hostility.

Shaun learns about the farmer's memory loss, and he and the flock devise a plan, which involves putting the farmer and everyone else to sleep with the sheep-counting trick, returning him to the trailer on a pantomime horse (really the sheep in an elaborate disguise), and hooking the trailer up to a bus returning to Mossy Bottom. The plan is initially successful, but they are pursued by Trumper who becomes insane and intent on killing them outright.

At the farm, the group hide in a shed, which Trumper tries to push into a nearby rock quarry. Fortunately, the farmer wakes up, regains his memory, and through teamwork, Trumper is defeated. The farmer and the animals have a renewed appreciation for each other, and the next day, the farmer cancels the day's routine activities. Slip leaves, but is adopted by a bus driver who finds her on the road. The animal-control service is turned into animal-protection centre, and Trumper, no longer welcome there, finds work wearing a chicken suit to promote a restaurant.

In a mid-credits scene, the farmer witnesses the events caused by his oblivious self and the animals on the news, as the animals watch in horror.

Cast
Omid Djalili

Trumper

Omid Djalili voiced Trumper. Justin Fletcher as Shaun[1] is the main character in the film. A sheep lives as leader of The Flock who organizes and ideas. Shaun wants to have a free day, and make mischief forces it upon him to go find the farmer in the big city. Fletcher also plays Timmy.[1] A little lamb who admires Shaun.

John Sparkes as Bitzer.[1] A shepherd dog who follows the rules of the Farmer and helps Shaun to find the Farmer. Sparkes also does the voice of The Farmer.[1] A British man who has spent most of his life doing routine tasks. When Shaun and the flock leave him sleeping in a caravan he ends up lost with amnesia in the big city and becomes a famous stylist known as Mr X.

Omid Djalili as Trumper.[1] An Animal Containment worker, who hates animals and wants to capture Shaun and the flock and have them euthanized. Kate Harbour as Timmy's mum.[1] A sheep with only one child and is willing to help Shaun to find the Farmer. Harbour also plays Merly.[1] A worker at the stylists shop when the Farmer worked when he lost his memory.

Richard Webber as Shirley.[1] A very fat sheep who is always eating and helps Shaun. Tim Hands as Slip.[1] A dog who never had a owner and becomes friend of Shaun to find the farmer. Simon Greenall as the twins.[1] Two sheep who are always helping Shaun and the flock. Emma Tate as Hazel.[1] A sheep member of the flock who helps Shaun and the flock to find the Farmer Henry Burton as a junior doctor.[1] Burton also does an Animal containment visitor[1]

Dhimant Vyas as a hospital consultant[1] Sophie Laughton as an Animal containment visitor[1] Nia Medi James as an operatic sheep[1] Sean Connolly as Stylists. Workers of the Styllist Shop[1] Connolly also plays as Maitre D, Golfer, Angry Panto Horse and Hospital Characters[1]

Stanley Unwin as Bus Station Announcer and Hospital Announcer[1] Andy Nyman as Nuts.[1] A sheep with strange eyes who is member of The Flock. Jack Paulson as a celebrity with hair trouble.[1] A man who was in the desatre a restaurant and his hair is cut by The Farmer. Nick Park as himself.[1] Park plays a man who sees two birds kissing until the caravan takes away his tent and is attacked by the 2 birds.

Production
Mark Burton and Richard Starzak, directors and writers of the film, at the San Francisco Film Society By January 2011, Aardman had started developing a feature film version of Shaun the Sheep, with a plan to be ready for a 2013/2014 release.[9] By April 2013, StudioCanal was set to finance and distribute the film, written and directed by Richard Starzak and Mark Burton.[8] The film had an initial release date of 20 March 2015,[10] which later was moved to 6 February 2015.[3] Principal photography and production began on 30 January 2014.[11]

Music
Soundtrack

Shaun the Sheep Movie

Soundtrack album by Various Artists

Released 1 June 2015 29 June 2015 (CD)

Recorded 2015

Genre Soundtrack

Length 54:45

Label Silva Screen Records

Producer Various Artists

Ilan Eshkeri composed the music for the film.[12] The title song, "Feels Like Summer", was a collaboration between Tim Wheeler (of rock band Ash), composer Ilan Eshkeri and former-Kaiser Chief Nick Hodgson.[13] The soundtrack was released in the UK digitally on 1 June 2015 and on CD on 29 June 2015.[14] All music composed by Ilan Eshkeri, except where noted.

No.

Title

Performer

Length

1. "Feels Like Summer"  Tim Wheeler 3:00 2. "Humdrum Day"  Ilan Eshkeri 2:31 3. "Shaun's Plan"  Ilan Eshkeri 2:01 4. "You're Mine"  Chad Hobson and Lucille Findlay 3:40 5. "Shaun's Farm House Party"  Ilan Eshkeri 1:18 6. "Runaway Caravan"  Ilan Eshkeri 3:19 7. "Anarchy on the Farm"  Ilan Eshkeri 1:17 8. "Shaun's Mission"  Ilan Eshkeri 1:23 9. "Doctor Bitzer"  Ilan Eshkeri 2:09 10. "Trumper"  Ilan Eshkeri 1:33 11. "Big City"  Eliza Doolittle 3:19 12. "Le Chou Brulé"  Sally Heath 0:54 13. "Gaol House Blues"  Ilan Eshkeri 1:12 14. "Beauty Parade"  Ilan Eshkeri 1:50 15. "Gaol Break"  Ilan Eshkeri 2:53 16. "Finding the Farmer"  Ilan Eshkeri 2:41 17. "Building the Horse"  Ilan Eshkeri 2:04 18. "Feels Like Summer"  The Baa Baa Shop Quintet 1:44 19. "Trumper on the Scent"  Ilan Eshkeri 1:01 20. "Got to Sleep Counting Sheep"  Ilan Eshkeri 1:44 21. "Panto Horse Chase"  Ilan Eshkeri 1:44 22. "Caravan Ride Home"  Ilan Eshkeri 1:34 23. "Showdown at the Quarry"  Ilan Eshkeri 4:38 24. "Goodbye Slip"  Ilan Eshkeri 1:00 25. "Feels Like Summer - (Instrumental)"  Tim Wheeler 1:50 26. "Life's a Treat (Shaun the Sheep Theme) - (Rizzle Kicks mix)"  Mark Thomas, Vic Reeves and Rizzle Kicks 2:41

Total length: 54:45

Release
Shaun the Sheep Movie premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival as part of the Sundance Kid program on 24 January 2015.[2] The film was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 6 February 2015 by StudioCanal.[3]

The United States film posters spoofed some of the higher-budgeted films of that year, including Ant-Man (renamed Ant-Lamb), Minions (renamed Muttons), Spectre (renamed Shaun), Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (renamed Mutton: Impossible - Rogue Bacon), Fantastic Four (renamed Fantastic Flock), and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay (renamed The Hungry Games: Eating Hay).[15]

Home media

Shaun the Sheep Movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on 1 June 2015, by StudioCanal.[16]

Reception
Critical reception

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes records 99% positive reviews, based on 148 critics, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The site's consensus reads, "Warm, funny, and brilliantly animated, Shaun the Sheep is yet another stop-motion jewel in Aardman's family-friendly crown."[17] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 81 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[18] On CinemaScore, audience members gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[19]

Lou Lumenick of the New York Post gave the film three out of four stars, saying, "Shaun the Sheep Movie may be less elaborate than Aardman masterpieces like Curse of the Were-Rabbit, but there's still much to enjoy. It's not often you see a cartoon that references both Night of the Hunter and Silence of the Lambs."[20] Inkoo Kang of The Wrap gave the film a positive review, saying, "Refreshingly for children (but especially for adults), there are no lessons to learn and no faults to admonish. Instead, it's an 84-minute, dialogue-free distillation of all the innocent fun we wish childhood could be."[21] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review, saying "Playful, absurd and endearingly inventive, this unstoppably amusing feature reminds us why Britain's Aardman Animations is a mainstay of the current cartooning golden age."[22] Peter Keough of The Boston Globe gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying "Like a great silent movie, it creates its pathos and comedy out of the concrete objects being animated, building elaborate gags involving everyday items transformed into Rube Goldberg devices."[23]

Colin Covert of the Minneapolis Star Tribune gave the film four out of four stars, saying "Sometimes the simplest movies are the best. Case in point: Shaun the Sheep, a dialogue-free, non-digitally designed, plain old stop-motion animated film that is hilarious beyond human measure."[24] Guy Lodge of Variety gave the film a positive review, saying, "Though realized on a more modest scale than other Aardman features, the film is still an absolute delight in terms of set and character design, with sophisticated blink-and-you’ll-miss-it detailing to counterbalance the franchise’s cruder visual trademarks."[25] Joe McGovern of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A-, saying, "In a bold move that pays off, the movie jettisons dialogue altogether and tells its whole story through barn-animal noises, goofy sound effects, and sight gags so silly they’d make Benny Hill spin in sped-up ecstasy. The effect is contagiously cute."[26] Jordan Hoffman of the New York Daily News gave the film four out of five stars, saying "From the company that gave us Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit, this adorable tale about a sheep who leads his comrades on a big-city adventure is some of the most pure visual storytelling you’re going to see this year."[27]

Box office

The film cost less than $25 million to produce.[5] On 14 September 2015, Lionsgate announced that the film had earned $100 million worldwide,[5][28] while Box Office Mojo estimates the film's gross at $83.5 million[6] Some of its biggest markets were the United Kingdom ($20.9 million), North American ($19.4 million) and Germany ($11.7 million).[29]

Accolades

Main article: List of accolades received by Shaun the Sheep Movie

Sequel
On 14 September 2015, StudioCanal announced it is working with Aardman on a sequel.[5]