'Shaun the Sheep: The Farmer's Llamas': Bliss for 'Wallace And Gromit' Fans
The beautiful animation and slapstick comedy of Shaun The Sheep: The Farmer’s Llamas will bring joy to everyone watching this world-premiere half-hour streaming on Amazon Prime starting today. The invention of animator Nick Park, the genius behind the Wallace and Gromit cartoons, Shaun the Sheep is fast-paced fun that adults and children can enjoy in equal measure.
A spin-off character less well known in America than Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep is a smart little member of his flock, residing at Mossy Bottom Farm in Northern England, which is overseen by the tall, gangly, bespectacled Farmer.
The plot of this 30-minute special finds the mischievous Shaun tricking the Farmer into buying a herd of llamas at a local auction. Shaun thinks they’d be fun to have around. Instead, these llamas are louche louts: They bully the rest of the sheep, they hog all the sleeping space in the barn, they wolf down all the food, they cheat at a soccer game played against the other sheep — why, they even take over the Farmer’s house.
The sight gags throughout are clever, but as always with one of Park’s Aardman Animations productions, the animation is the real star. The stop-action movements of the clay-like figures is hypnotically entrancing, with its unique mixture of idealism and realism. Park and company make the English countryside look warm, cozy, and inviting in rolling, grassy long-shots, but close-ups reveal nice little everyday details — chips in the Farmer’s china as he washes dishes, paint flaking off a barn wall, knicks in a bedroom door.
The llamas prove to be a nuisance that Shaun deeply regrets introducing onto the farm, and how he gets them to leave provides the climax of the adventure. I was completely absorbed in Shaun’s efforts, transported once again into that Wallace and Gromit-invented world where things go wrong but ultimately turn out just right. Shaun learns his lesson, but not before letting us spend more time in this beautiful, humane world.
Shaun The Sheep: The Farmer’s Llamas is streaming on Amazon Prime.
