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.
Who would have thought that we’d be sitting in 2026 with more ‘Shaun the Sheep’ cinematic releases than ‘Wallace and Gromit’, the Aardman Animations series where Shaun originated? Hell, who’d have thought that almost 40 years after ‘A Grand Day Out’, these stop-motion clay animation films would still be being created, and still be entertaining audiences of all ages. If you’re British, you’ll be very familiar with the work of Aardman Animations, and I suspect if you’re a film fan from elsewhere, you will be too. Their latest release, the third in the ‘Shaun the Sheep’ series, is a horror-tinged tale subtitled ‘The Beast of Mossy Bottom’ and it has everything you’ve came to expect and love about their work.
Set in the leadup to Halloween, Shaun and his fellow sheep have been preparing a secret pumpkin patch at Mossy Bottom farm, until it is accidentally destroyed by the clumsy farmer. To prevent a pumpkin free Halloween, Shaun springs into action armed with a mad science book, and creates a potion that can regrow the pumpkins overnight. So far so good, that is until the farmer discovers the potion and uses it to regrow his hair in order to impress the local vet. You can see where this might go from here…
There are homages aplenty to numerous classic horror movies, both in sight gags and the use of tropes, and they’re sprinkled with ease into the quaint English rural country village setting of Mossy Bottom. The quality of the writing is incredibly strong, as it always is, and it’s matched by the quality of the craft and attention that has gone into the animation. ‘Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom’ is another loving entry into Aardman’s now extensive filmography, and it’ll appeal to young and old alike. Quite happy to have one of these films appearing every 5 years or so!
Rating: 3/5
Directed By: Steve Cox and Matthew Walker
Starring: Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Kate Harbour, Richard Webber, Simon Greenall, Emma Tate, Andy Nyman, Nina Sosanya, Paul Whitehouse, Dani Dyer, Roman Kemp and Chris Morrell
