A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmaggedon

An alien crash lands in Mossingham. The government want to capture it, Farmer Jones wants to profit off of it, but all Shaun the Sheep wants to do is befriend it. The chaos the alien leaves in its wake may be fun can Shaun help it get back to its planet before one very dogged government agent gets her way?

A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019) – Director: Will Becher, Richard Phelan

Rating: U

Running Length: 86 mins

Starring: Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Chris Morrell

Genre: Comedy, Animated

REVIEW: ‘A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: FARMAGEDDON’

Cheeky Little Shaun has come a long way since he first hit our screens in 1995’s ‘Wallace & Gromit: A Close Shave’; he’s had his own titular spin-off show and his own big screen debut twenty years later in ‘Shaun the Sheep Movie’. This sequel, ‘A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon’, mixes in a large helping of sci fi into the already tasty mix. Aliens! Flying saucers! Men (well, women) in black! While this could have opened up the movie to more extreme and fantastical circumstances, directors Will Becher and Richard Phelan have done a sterling job of keeping its feet firmly on the well-trodden ground of Mossy Bottom Farm.

For a movie with virtually no dialogue – bleating, grunts, groans and unintelligible mumblings make up the vast majority of the audible ‘script’ – the excellent stop-motion animation works beautifully to convey all the emotions, thoughts and feelings of the characters throughout. Sci-fi fans will be delighted in spotting the many fi references woven into each scene and all ages have plenty of warm-hearted funny comedy to enjoy; ‘A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon’ is a true family film.

CONTENT: IS ‘A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: FARMAGEDDON’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

At night, a man follows his dog after it runs away into the woods. Coming across the crashed UFO, they run away. This scene is a little spooky and could be a bit scary for younger kids.

Shaun and the rest of his flock are very naughty. Trying to entertain themselves, they climb and play on a combine harvester. They also order pizzas online while the farmer is distracted. Although these a fun moments, we mention this in case these moments are imitable.

The long-suffering farm dog tries to keep order with the sheep but is increasingly frustrated by Shaun and pals. At one point he ‘rants’ at them with angry grunts; one of the sheep covers the ears of a lamb, indicating that the dog is swearing at them.

Shaun sees something entering the barn. It is very dark and he slowly walks in. The shadow of a creature runs quickly across the screen, unseen by Shaun. This is only a short scene but could be quite spooky for young kids.

The alien gets distracted by a supermarket. It put takes sweets directly from plastic tubs and eats them. Again, we mention this purely because it is potentially imitable behaviour.

After a while of Shaun and the alien’s friendship, the alien shows Shaun how it ended up on Earth. This becomes a little sad when it shows how it misses its parents.

The farm dog is on the alien’s ship and gets subjected to an automated cleaning process. The shot is of his upper body and the sequence ends as a a feather duster moves below the camera causing the shocked reaction from the dog.

A man holds up a picture of a naked man and woman as an example of humanity but has his fingers strategically placed.

There are a couple of sad moments towards the end of the movie so some reassurance may be needed. However, they aren’t prolonged and there is an upbeat ending.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: FARMAGEDDON’ FOR KIDS?

‘A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon’ is a delightful movie for the whole family and, as a stand-alone story, doesn’t require any background knowledge of the characters. We feel this movie is suitable for all ages.