Shaun the Sheep and all the fools. The adorable mini-franchise from Aardman Animations – creators of stop-motion temptations like Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run – which includes a TV series, two feature films, and now a new Netflix’s holiday special movie, Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas. As Sean always says, Special Features has no dialogue, just lots of muttering, groaning, and empty amphora, a refreshing antidote to the relentless exaggeration of other animated youth entertainment. The official description is a pun from the start: “If Sean hunts socks bigger than a rock,” he says, proving it’s fun before we even start playing. So it’s just a matter of determining how much fun it is.
The Christmas Tower above Mossy Bottom.
Shaun (singer Justin Fletcher) and his lamb buddies decorate the barn with lights. And lined pizza slices and pull Christmas wool sweaters into their natural, non-Christmas wool sweaters. You know, the kind that slowly oozes from their skin. Outside, Bitzer, the interdenominational sheepdog, carefully wrapped his crate and so on. Rather than artificial skirts. He looks into the Farmer’s (John Sparks) house. And also sees a big sock hanging out the window, and he thinks it’s worth picking up. Of course, so that Santa can give him more loot, and I don’t know what the lamb is about. Spit or what?
Inside, Farmer haggles over recipes for drinks like his lemonade. But that doesn’t stop him from bottling it, donning a Santa suit, and bringing the mix into town to sell at the Christmas bazaar. Meanwhile, Sean and the little lamb – apparently called cousin Timmy. Who doesn’t know who mentions names or anything in the series – are looking to kill one of the big socks. When the little one ends up in a gift box in a farmer’s truck. And then under that Basarbaum. And later owned by a cute little girl who puts him in her family’s modern smart home.
With ridiculously ridiculous Wi-Fi facilities that are sure to be ready to smack. Of course, Sean and the other sheep. Who also goes by names like Shirley, Nats, and Timmy’s mother, who have to save Timmy. And Bitzer can’t help but be on the hunt and can’t help but put on a disgraceful elf costume. Which usually displeased with his attempts to save her. Shepherd them. This is the mildest type of hazard. But it is still a hazard and must be removed before Santa can get on stage. Chaos reigns!
The pre-Christmas flight is great fun:
Fun like any other Sean adventure. It’s the usual, adorable, quirky, quick but not too fast lamb bath, full of jokes except this time with a holiday theme, with cute pictures of mom and dad with headphones too busy looking at their tablet screens, to notice that your house with slick curtains full of robbing sheep. Social Commentary Insights: PARENTS SHOULD PAY CAREFULLY. And the possibility of cleaning sheep dung. Either way, there’s always the laughter, the city taking centre stage, some family TV must-sees along with Emmett Otter’s Christmas, the Star Wars Christmas special, and the Christmas variety show Black Philips Spectacular On Ice.
Up to 14 different animators work simultaneously in the Bristol studios on 22 different sets – called units. The most extensive and most complex set, the Christmas Bazaar, consisting of the entire cast, is 12 m long and 6 m wide.
All sets are made at the same height for the comforter and unique marine wood. Which does not expand when wet. While Aardman’s original creations were made of plasticine, his dolls are sturdier today. Sean has a metal frame, his arms and legs are made of silicone, his face is made of resin, and his body is covered in natural wool. Plasticine is still used to make facial expressions.
The studio has always relied on the structural look of its foil. This is why white feather decorations sprinkled with marble powder are used to make the snow. Music has always been an integral part of Aardman’s performances. And an extraordinary 47-person orchestra is used to create the dramatic soundtrack.
“From the start we wanted this to be a mini-film,” said Steve. “There’s a lot of action, a lot of comedy, and although I’m biased. I think this is Aardman’s best Christmas special.”