On Halloween Eve at Mossy Bottom Farm, excitement turns to dismay when the clumsy Farmer ruins the pumpkin patch. Shaun tries fixing it with science experiments, but things go wrong when a wild beast appears in the woods.
Chuck says:
“Shaun the Sheep” is a veritable television institution in England. Featured in 190 episodes over seven seasons, the expressive ovine, created by Nick Park and Bob Baker of “Wallace and Gromit” fame, has entertained millions with his misadventures, often centered on bringing a bit of excitement to his boring life. His fascination with technology has led to one near disaster after another, while his fellow sheep, often looking on bemusedly, usually come to his rescue,
Not satisfied with simply conquering British children’s television, Park and Baker set their sights on the world of film with the imaginatively titled 2015 release, “Shaun the Sheep Movie” followed up by 2019’s “Farmageddon.” Now comes the release of “The Beast of Mossy Bottom,” a Halloween-themed feature that finds the titular wooly buck combating not only the results of a misguided experiment but a mysterious monster as well.
According to the film, and unbeknownst to me, sheep are great lovers of pumpkins. Having planted an extensive garden of the squash, they’re eagerly awaiting the harvest, their carving tools at the ready. However, a freak accident involving the Farmer (voice by John Sparkes) ruins the crop, a bevy of shattered gourds left in his wake. Not to be deterred, Shaun (Justin Fletcher), armed with a cast-off science book, sets out to find a way to repair the damage.
What he concocts is a super steroid-like potion that, once applied, accelerates the healing and growth of the shattered pumpkins. Where the damaged pepos are concerned, all is well. However, when the magic goo gets into the Farmer’s hair growth tonic, he soon finds his entire body covered in shaggy fur! After stumbling from his home into the wilderness, he’s soon mistaken for a bigfoot-like creature and, before you know it, nearby townspeople are in hot pursuit, having broken out their pitchforks and torches.
All of this is done with nary a word of actual dialogue. The characters all communicate with suggestive grunts, expressive sighs, or inquisitive moans. As such, directors Steve Cox, Matthew Walker and their crew employ incredibly expressive clay constructs, the attention to detail they employ remarkable and impressive. As with every good stop motion production, the viewer becomes so taken with the illusion the filmmakers create, you forget about how much time and preparation is needed to execute every meticulous movement and detail. Sequences involving multiple characters moving as well as other objects careening about are astounding in their complexity, the imagination at play equally astonishing.
As with all these features, the story is inconsequential. It acts simply as a throughline for the filmmakers to develop elaborate set pieces around. Cox and Walker don’t disappoint as they deliver one knockout sequence after another, whether it be a Rube Goldberg-inspired trap to snare the Farmer or a complex rescue involving a ship pulling out of port and the sheep futilely trying to stop it from the shore.
These moments, as well as various sight gags (check out the x-rays in the vet’s office!), deliver one pleasant chuckle after another. And for horror film aficionados, the directors throw in allusions to various genre classics, each rendered through their ironic lens. And while “Mossy Bottom” is not likely to be considered a classic in its own right, it is a passable diversion that will please Shaun fans and perhaps lead to the making of some new ones. Afterall, it’s hard not be won over by his innocent eyes and the hapless shrug he employs when his plans go awry. To paraphrase a certain spider, he’s “some sheep!”
3 Stars
