By Nick Nitkowski 

I’m a big fan of Aardman Animations. Obviously, the reason is due to their constant contribution to stop-motion animation. They have literally handmade some of my favorite movies like “Chicken Run”, “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”, and even the first “Shaun the Sheep” movie. And now made specifically for the Halloween season, we have their latest film hitting theaters, “Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom”. It kind of came out of nowhere, but I’m here for it, and now that I’ve gotten a chance to see it, I can give my honest opinion on it.

For those of you who do not know, “Shaun the Sheep” is a dialogue-less stop-motion animation following the adventures of Shaun the Sheep and some of his other friends. In this film, Shaun the Sheep is preparing for the Halloween celebration with his friends, but once a large hairy beast arrives into town, it’s up to Shaun the Sheep to use his intellect to stop the beast from terrorizing the town.

This film is absolutely adorable. There are so many cute moments and even jokes poking fun at horror that genuinely made me laugh. It was so cute to watch. While the movie doesn’t have any dialogue outside of the occasional gibberish, it manages to hold your attention. The film is all about visuals and action, and it doesn’t drag for a second. 

As someone who dabbles in stop-motion animation, I greatly appreciate all of the work that goes into stop-motion animation films. It is a very long and tedious process that can be daunting at times, but the end result is what always makes the process worth it, and I wish more would embrace this very unique and rewarding art. Luckily for me, this won’t be the only stop-motion animation film to get a release this year.

I remember watching the first “Shaun the Sheep” movie in theaters with no expectations, but an open mind, and it greatly surprised me. It was such a near perfect film in my eyes and while “The Beast of Mossy Bottom”, is very good, I do prefer the first one if I had to choose between the two. At the time of writing this, I’m just now realizing that I have not seen “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon”. Since that was only released on Netflix, I never got around to watching it. I should definitely get on that. Better late than never.

Overall, “Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom”, is a cute and family-friendly Halloween movie that all families can enjoy. Parents will be relieved to know that there is absolutely nothing scary in this film. Everything about it is silly and adorable from the story to the jokes all the way down to the characters’ expressions. If you were looking for something safe to take the kids to watch this weekend, don’t be tricked into taking them to see “Buddy” which is rated “R” for a reason, parents. Instead, take them to see “Shaun the Sheep”. I promise you will not regret it. In fact, you’ll be in for a real treat.

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 ½ stars