3006. A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019)

Starring: Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Amalie Vitale

Director: Will Becher, Richard Phelan

Running Time: 86 mins

A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon is a British film and the sequel to Shaun The Sheep Movie. After an alien crash lands near the farm, Shaun the Sheep must help him find his way home, while a media circus surrounding the UFO begins to build in the village.

Aardman really impressed four years ago with Shaun The Sheep Movie, a film that was just light and cute enough for kids, but still funny enough for adults to enjoy as well. Its sequel, too, isn’t half-bad, with a nice blend of cute family-friendly humour and stuff for the adults too, though it’s missing some of the anarchic energy that made its predecessor even more fun.

First things first, however, Aardman’s animation is once again outstanding here. The studio is well-known for the Wallace & Gromit cartoons of many years ago, but with updated filming techniques, Farmageddon looks absolutely gorgeous.

It’s a bright, energetic and characterful film that uses claymation and stop motion to perfection – in that it’s both not noticeable and still noticeable enough to give the film a distinct character.

On top of that, the way that Aardman manage to make such an enjoyable film without even a word of dialogue – the characters mainly grunt, laugh and baa without saying anything – is really impressive.

Much like the previous film, so much of the best laughs here come from clever slapstick, and directors Will Becher and Richard Phelan brilliantly bring that humour to life without ever getting bogged down in more complex and more unnecessary dialogue.

Another thing to love about Farmageddon is just how adorable it is. It’s a perfect watch for young viewers (even under the age of 3), because of its simple, cheerful and energetic story. The animation gives the film a very soft feeling, and the characters (particularly the alien) are so cute all the way through.

The only downside, however, is that this sequel doesn’t quite stand up to the enjoyably anarchic side of the first movie. Of course, in a Shaun the Sheep movie, anarchic and genre-breaking humour is hardly a necessity, but I really enjoyed the ways in which the last film did just that, and felt a little disappointed not to see it again this time round.

I still chuckled and smiled through Farmageddon, but it’s by no means on the same level of hilarity as the first film, more just an exercise is extreme cuteness. It’s still an enjoyable movie, though, and fun for all the family with light-hearted humour and slapstick for the kids and some great sci-fi nods and winks for the adults throughout. So, that’s why I’m giving it a 7.3 overall.