A Shaun The Sheep Movie: FARMAGEDDON [2019 / 2020] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
Aardman Animations’ is an Out Of This World Adventure!
Strange lights over the quiet town of Mossingham herald the arrival of a mystery visitor from far across the galaxy… but at nearby Mossy Bottom Farm, Shaun the Sheep has other things on his mind, as his mischievous schemes are continually thwarted by an exasperated Bitzer.
When an impish and adorable alien with amazing powers crash-lands near Mossy Bottom Farm, Shaun the Sheep soon sees an opportunity for alien-powered fun and adventure, setting off on a mission to shepherd the intergalactic visitor home before a sinister organisation can capture her… can Shaun the Sheep and the flock avert Farmageddon on Mossy Bottom Farm before it’s too late?
From the multi-award-winning studio that brought you ‘Chicken Run’ and ‘Wallace & Gromit,’ hold on to your seats as we blast off on an exciting and heart-warming sci-fi comedy adventure.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 2019 British Independent Film Awards: Win: British Independent Film Award for Best Effects for Howard Jones. Nominated: Douglas Hickox Award for Richard Phelan and Will Becher. 2019 Satellite Awards: Nominated: Best Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media. 2020 BAFTA Film Awards: Nominated: Best Animated Featured Film for Paul Kewley, Richard Phelan and Will Becher. 2020 London Critics Circle Film Awards: Nominated: Technical Achievement of the Year for Richard Phelan (animation) and Will Becher (animation).
FILM FACT No.2: In November 2018, it was announced that Aardman Animations employees Richard Phelan and Will Becher would be co-directing the film, with Starzak still attached as director, due to Peter Lord and David Sproxton giving the majority of ownership to employees to keep the company independent. The music for the film is composed by Tom Howe. It was initially believed Ilan Eshkeri, who composed the music for Shaun the Sheep Movie, would return, but these rumours were false. The theme tune for the film is titled "Lazy" and is written by Tom Howe and performed by The Vaccines and Kylie Minogue. Furthermore, like the previous film, the film incorporates a remix of series theme tune "Life's a Treat." Both Mark Thomas and Vic Reeves return to perform the remix and are joined by Nadia Rose.
Voice Cast: Justin Fletcher [Shaun / Timmy], John Sparkes [The Farmer / Bitzer], Chris Morrell [Farmer John], Andy Nyman [Nuts], David Holt [Muggins], Kate Harbour [Agent Red / Timmy's Mum], Amalia Vitale [Lu-La], Joe Sugg [Pizza Delivery Boy], Simon Greenall [Twins], Naomi McDonald [Additional Voices], Emma Tate [Hazel] and Richard Webber [Shirley / Ub-Oo]
Directors: Will Becher and Richard Phelan
Producers: Alicia Gold, David Sproxton, Carla Shelley, Didier Lupfer, Kerry Lock, Mark Burton, Nick Park, Paul Kewley, Peter Lord, Richard Beek, Richard Starzak, Ron Halpern and Sean Clarke
Screenplay: Jon Brown, Mark Burton (story) and Nick Park (characters/story)
Composer: Tom Howe
Cinematography: Charles Copping (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 7.1 Dolby TrueHD [DOLBY ATMOS]
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio Description
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 86 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Aardman Animations / STUDIOCANAL
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: Strange lights over the quiet town of Mossingham herald the arrival of a mystery visitor from far across the galaxy… but at nearby Mossy Bottom Farm, Shaun has other things on his mind, as his mischievous schemes are continually thwarted by an exasperated Bitzer.
When an impish and adorable alien with amazing powers crash-lands near Mossy Bottom Farm, Shaun soon sees an opportunity for alien-powered fun and adventure, setting off on a mission to shepherd the intergalactic visitor home before a sinister organisation can capture her…can Shaun and the flock avert Farmageddon on Mossy Bottom Farm before it’s too late?
With the Aardman Animations film ‘A Shaun The Sheep Movie: FARMAGEDDON’ [2019] they have upped the ante with this very funny and very clever animated film that is a sort of homage to Steven Spielberg and the sci-fi tale is crammed full of wonderful sight gags, and the animated film has a great deal of charm. Aardman Animations send Shaun the Sheep and company into orbit in another dizzyingly inventive animated film for everyone and Aardman Animations brings you the first feature-length Shaun the Sheep sequel that delightfully resumes the wild-and-woolly adventures of their anarchic ovine hero.
Shaun has just ordered in a pizza for the flock when strange lights appear over the quiet town of Mossingham that heralds the arrival of a mystery visitor from far across the galaxy… but at nearby Mossy Bottom Farm, Shaun has other things on his mind, as his mischievous schemes are continually thwarted by an exasperated Bitzer.
When an impish and adorable alien with amazing powers crash-lands near Mossy Bottom Farm, Shaun soon sees an opportunity for alien-powered fun and adventure, setting off on a mission to shepherd the intergalactic visitor home before a sinister organisation can capture her…can Shaun and the flock avert Farmageddon on Mossy Bottom Farm before it’s too late?
‘A Shaun The Sheep Movie: FARMAGEDDON’ opens with Shaun [Justin Fletcher] and the rest of the Mossy Bottom Farm flock repeatedly getting into trouble with dog Blitzer [John Sparkes] who forbids them from any more dangerous activities. Meanwhile, space alien Lu-La [Amalia Vitale] lands her craft in the nearby woods. Lu-La’s spotted by Farmer John [Chris Morrell] out walking his dog and runs off to hide and Lu-La ends up at Mossy Bottom and befriends Shaun, who agrees to help her get home and previously Lu-La accidentally launched her spaceship when playing with it whilst her parents were asleep. However, they run into trouble with the Ministry of Alien Detection (M.A.D.), led by Agent Red [Kate Harbour]. The agents take Lu-La’s ship, so she and Shaun hatch a plan to get it back. During all this, Mossy Bottom’s The Farmer [John Sparkes] tries to capitalise on the UFO-mania hitting town after the sighting. The Farmer gets Blitzer and the flock to help him turn the farm into an alien-centred half-arsed theme park called “Farmageddon.”
While Shaun is learning that Lu-la’s arrival was an accident and that her parents are still up there, the secret agent is closing in on her. Can the brotherhood between the animals and their new friend makes sure that Lu-la can return home or will she stay trapped forever in an unknown world to her?
As is to be expected from Aardman Animation, the animated film is very well made and it has an attractive and fairly unique colour palette, with pleasing blues, purples and pinks for Lu-La and her ship and planet. The town of Mossingham is lovingly rendered too, feeling very typically English and looking quite realistic at times. There are a number of wonderfully English touches to the humour too, such as the toast to the film ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ monolith and a running gag involving a bag of chips. Something that the children might not get but that the adults will love are the references to other sci-fi films and sci-fi televisions series. The director and writers themselves don’t know how many references they used in this animated film.
Overall, it’s a hugely entertaining family-friendly film that might “borrow” heavily from ‘E.T.’ but tells its story in a universal visual fashion with plenty of effective gags for young children and adults alike. It’s sure to become a family favourite like the best of the Aardman Animations films. Oh, and make sure to stay right to the end of the credits as there’s a fun little treat hiding there for you. Do you want to have a nice and relaxing family time while watching a film you will enjoy, then ‘A Shaun The Sheep Movie: FARMAGEDDON’ is the Aardman Animations film that is right up your street. It’s a lovely, delightful and flawlessly crafted animated film that will make you smile for the whole 85 minutes.
By the way, to understand the wonderful characters, please check out the following:
Lu-La: Lu-la is a brightly-coloured, impish, and adorable alien who crash lands in Mossingham forest by accident. Playful, inquisitive and very lively, Lu-la finds a kindred spirit in her new friend Shaun. Equipped with impressive extra-terrestrial abilities and an earth-shattering burp, Lu-la soon has the flock enchanted.
Shaun and Bitzer: A natural rule-breaker, Shaun’s love of fun continues to lead him into mischief in this movie. While his motives always come from a good place – Shaun just loves to seek out new experiences . . . to Bitzer’s eternal frustration. Bitzer is forced to employ a hard line with the flock, enforcing a new set of rules to restore some semblance of order on the farm. However, these two always end up accidentally working together and we learn that every flock needs someone they can truly rely on.
The Farmer: The farmer is pretty content with his life at Mossy Bottom Farm. When news reaches him about alien sightings in town, the farmer is quick to scoff, but in a moment of inspiration, the farmer and not a man to whom ideas come naturally, realises that there could there be a money-making opportunity to be had.
Agent Red and The Hazmatts: The poker-faced Agent Red heads up the murky “ministry of alien activity.” The Hazmatts work under the command of Agent Red to fulfil her alien-capturing schemes. With her slash of red lipstick and sharp suit, Agent Red means business and no UFO sighting escapes her steely glare.
A Shaun The Sheep Movie: FARMAGEDDON MUSIC TRACK LIST
REAL LIFE (Written by Tom Walker and Ellis Cruickshank Taylor) [Performed by Tom Walker]
BLOW THE WIND SOUTHERLY (Traditional) (Arranged by Mike Smit) [Performed by Mike Smit]
EVERYTHING IS BETTER (Written by Kieran Shudall) [Performed by Kieran Shudall and Heather Shudall]
Also Sprach Zarathustra Op 30 (Written by Richard Strauss) (Arranged by Paul Mounsey)
LAZY (Written by Justin Hayward-Young, Yoann Intonti, Timothy Lanham, Freddie Cowan, Arni Hjorvar Arnason and Cole Marsden Greif-Neill) [Performed by The Vaccines and Kylie Minogue]
CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF THE THIRD KIND (Written by John Williams)
OUT OF CONTROL (Farmageddon Remix) (Written by Tom Rowlands,Ed Simons and Bernard Sumner) [Performed by The Chemical Brothers]
THE X FILES THEME (Written by Mark Snow)
I CAN’T BE MY OLD SELF FOREVER (Written by Jorja Smith and Joel Compass) [Performed by Jorja Smith]
The Blue Danube Waltz (Written by Johann Strauss) (Arranged by Paul Mounsey)
HOUSE OF FUN (Written by Mike Barson and Lee Thompson) [Performed by Mike Smith]
FOREVER AUTUMN (Written by Jeff Wayne, Gary Osborne and Paul Vigrass) [Performed by Justin Hayward]
SHAUN THE SHEEP (Life's a Treat) (Farmageddon Remix) (Written by Mark Thomas, Thomas Mackenzie Bell and Nadia Norley Rose) [Performed by Toddla T featuring Nadia Rose] [Additional vocals by Vic Reeves]
RENEGADE SHEEP (Written by Jordan Cardy) [Performed by Rat Boy]
THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER (Written by Peter Cunnah and Jamie Petrie) [Performed by Mike Smith]
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Aardman Animations and STUDIOCANAL present ‘A Shaun The Sheep Movie: FARMAGEDDON’ with a stunning and beautiful 1080p image and in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The animation looks totally amazing in HD and at times you think you are viewing it in 3D, it is that good. Detail is exceptional, for example you can easily see the fingerprints of the animators embedded in the brow of Lu-La as they've manipulated the puppet. Traditional stop-motion animation using puppets always gives a much more traditional feel than its CGI counterpart. This release really allows you to pick out all the details and textures of the models used. The animated film features an array of aesthetically pleasing bright colours and they are vividly reproduced for this Blu-ray release and definitely receives a five star rating from me. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Aardman Animations and STUDIOCANAL brings you this Blu-ray release ‘A Shaun The Sheep Movie: FARMAGEDDON’ in either 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and DOLBY ATMOS, but if you are like me and not have this audio mix, then you can view the animated film in 7.1 Dolby TrueHD. The surround sound is excellent and, surprisingly, for a young audience the animated film will find it pretty solid and especially with the subwoofer getting a good workout all round. Because I do not have the DOLBY ATMOS audio track, they say it just beats the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio as you would expect with a richer fuller sound. With no actual dialogue to deal with, the sound effects are dominant as you would expect. The composed film music by composer Tom Howe is also used to great effect with a music score resembling John Williams in places and a sprinkling of pop songs which will please or annoy you based on your preferences. So overall you get to hear an amazing and outstanding audio experience and definitely gets a five star rating.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Blu-ray and DVD Trailers: Here you get to view four trailers and they are as follows:
EARLY MAN [2019] [1080p] [1.85:1] [2:29]
Playmobile THE MOVIE [2018] [1080p] [2.35:1] [2:31]
PADDINGTON 2 [2017] [1080p] [2.35:1] [2:27]
Shaun the Sheep – MOVIE [2015] [1080p] [1.85:1] [2:27]
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Special Feature: How to Draw Lu-La [2019] [1080p] [1.78:1] [2:49] Here you get to learn how to draw Lu-La by following this quick and easy tutorial and great for all ages. Here one of the Aardman Animations story artists shows you how to draw the loveable alien. They use of simple shapes allow you to easily draw the loveable alien Lu-La. Children should be able to follow along very easily and produce their own artwork.
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Special Feature: How to Draw Shaun the Sheep [2019] [1080p] [1.78:1] [2:49] Here this time you get to learn how to draw Shaun by following this quick and easy tutorial and again it is great for all ages. Here once again we get one of the Aardman Animations story artists shows you how to draw the adorable and cute Shaun the Sheep. But this time Shaun the Sheep is slightly more complicated but still quite easy to reproduce.
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Special Feature: How to Make Painted Easter Eggs [2019] [1080p] [1.78:1] [1:49] Now here young children first of all have to ask their Parents to make sure they get to boil the eggs before you can go ahead and paint them and make sure they have cooled down before you pick them up to paint. Here we get to view a very skilled artist who shows you how simple it is to paint the boiled eggs to resemble the main characters in the animated film. Your results may vary and there are templates on the Shaun the Sheep website which you can download to assist you. So I wish you very good luck!
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Special Feature: Lu-La Slime Time [2019] [1080p] [1.78:1] [1:30] Here we get to learn how to make Lu-La out of slime, especially if slime is your thing then you’ll love this featurette which shows you how to combine various household ingredients together to make a sticky goop. Here you are informed of what you need: first you have to assemble one clear glass jug and two clear glass bowls, and then you need 200ML Clear PVC Glue, 50ML Saline Solution, one teaspoon of Baking Soda, Food Colouring, then you start mixing everything up and then start needing . . . this can take a while, then in the blue and read slime you ad biodegradable glitter, mix, mix and mix again! Download the template from www.shaunthesheep.com for more details. Then with the glass jar, stick certain items you have printed out of parts from Lu-La onto the glass jar with double sided tape. The take the blue and red slime and twist them together, then squeeze them into the glass jar and hey presto you have something children will love to play with. This instruction video says to get a grown up to help, although you’ll need to find a grown-up who might be happy to have slime stains and glitter covering every available surface. Guaranteed fun for everyone!
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Special Feature: How to Make Christmas Decorations [2019] [1080p] [1.78:1] [2:15] With this featurette it is pretty good as it essentially shows you how to do a model Lu-La, Shaun the Sheep and two other characters out of modelling clay to hang on your Christmas tree. But first of all ask an adult to help you, because you end up with characters looking pretty much like the ones in the animated film. The first character is Lu-La and first scrunch up some tin foil, then mix blue and white polymer clay together, then flatten the polymer clay and then fold it around the scrunched up tin foil, then make sure the polymer clay is completely smooth, then put in two indentations for the eyes . . . and then add a cute smiley mouth! Then add a pea sized amount of clay for the nose, then make two eyes from the white clay, then add small dots of black clay for the pupils, then shape some purple and pink clay to form two ears, and then add then to the head and then curve the ears, and then two holes in the top of the head for the wire. Now we are shown how to make the head for Shaun the Sheep, and once again scrunch up some tin foil, then shape black polymer clay, and then mould it around the scrunched up tin foil, and then smooth out the polymer clay, then put in two indentations for the eyes . . . and nostrils, then shape the black clay to form two ears, and then secure the ears to the head with a toothpick, then make two eyes with the white polymer clay, then add small dots of black polymer clay for the pupils, then make Shaun’s top knot from some white polymer clay, then add two holes in the top of Shaun’s head for the wire. We are then informed with the two heads already made, to then bake according to the instructions. When cooled, glue in the loop of wire. Then just follow these simple instructions to make two more heads of the characters heads The Farmer and Bitzer. Then when all four characters are finished, then hang then on your Christmas tree and amaze your guests to show them that you do not have to always hang traditional items on the Christmas tree. It does somewhat rely on you already in having some art skills in order to achieve this effect as you are only given basic instructions such as “make a head shape.” If only it were that easy.
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Special Feature: Shaun the Sheep 25th Anniversary [2019] [1080p] [1.78:1 / 2.35:1 / 1.37:1] [3:56] The creative talents baa-hind the nations favourite Shaun the Sheep about talk about the history behind this loveable character and delves into the origins of Shaun the Sheep. We hear about the first appearance of Shaun the Sheep in the animated film ‘Wallace and Gromit: A Close Shave’ to getting his own TV series and eventually making his way to the big screen in 2015. They also explain why they decided Shaun the Sheep’s new adventure would take him into the unexplored territory of outer space. We also get some old footage of behind-the-scenes from the animated film ‘Wallace and Gromit: A Close Shave.’ We also get to see an old Nick Park interview in 1995. We also get to see some wonderful rough black sketches of Aardman Animation characters. It looks like there is a possibility of a new Shaun the Sheep animated film in the pipeline, where we get to see more outrageous adventures with Shaun the Sheep and his naughty gang of sheep. Contributors include: Nick Park [Creator], David Sproxton [Executive Producer], Richard Slazak [Director / Co-writer], Paul Kewley [Producer], Will Becher [Director], Richard Phelan [Director] and Peter Lord [Executive Producer].
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Special Feature: Making ‘FARMAGEDDON’ [2019] [1080p] [2.35:1 / 1.78:1] [3:14] Find out all about the live action behind the animation of ‘A Shaun The Sheep Movie: FARMAGEDDON.’ This is great fun and is a very informative featurette that goes behind-the-scenes to show you the secrets of animated film. Life at Aardman Animations is a great adventure and takes an in-depth look the behind-the-scene on how they created scenes for the animated film and what we see is the crew being filmed acting out different scenes so they can convert them into the scenes in the animated film. Contributors include: Will Becher [Director] and Richard Phelan [Director].
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Special Feature: The Woolmark Company Presents: Super Natural Wool [2019] [1080p] [1.78:1] [0:59] This is what you might basically call an advert for the Woolmark Company and combines a nice little bonus of a really cute short animated film. Lu-La lands at the Mossy Bottom farm and turns up at the barn and is freezing cold because her alien spaceship had no heating, so Shaun and his sheep buddies extol the warming qualities of wool by knitting Lu-La a nice woolly jumper and Shaun the Sheep informs Lu-La via a blackboard that the woolly jumper she is wearing is super soft, super snug and super natural. Then Lu-La with her magical powers makes loads of other woolly garments in half the time. Then Lu-La leaves Planet Earth in her alien spaceship and then leaves a gigantic wool trade mark in the wheat field. This animated film was sponsored by The Woolmark Company where you can also encounter more fun if you visit the www.supernaturalwool.com web site and I hope you have some out of this world fun!
Finally, ‘A Shaun The Sheep Movie: FARMAGEDDON’ is an Aardman Animations' charming adventure is further proof that few studios do family entertainment better. ‘A Shaun The Sheep Movie: FARMAGEDDON’ is a joy from start to finish and stay seated right until the very final credit and with the stop-motion animation is so good that you soon forget you are watching models made of clay. Shaun the sheep maintains his cheeky appeal, but it's the introduction of Lu-La, a cute, blue alien, that steals the show. The relationship between Shaun and Lu-La is genuinely touching. It's great to have a sheep and alien remind you that friendships can blossom no matter what your background is or where you come from and especially fromtwo entirely different planets. As with so many of Aardman's creations, and there are plenty of cultural references to look out for like ‘E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial’ is the most obvious, but there are also nods to ‘The X-Files,’ ‘Doctor Who,’ and even ‘Alien.’ There's even a blink-and-you-miss-it joke on the label of a jar of jam. These in-jokes are just a small part of why ‘A Shaun The Sheep Movie: FARMAGEDDON’ warrants repeat viewings. The real reason is that this is an animated film that can be enjoyed together by the whole family. One saving grace is that it says right at the end credits, that no sheep were probed during the making of this animated film. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
