Shaun the Sheep Movie facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shaun the Sheep Movie
British theatrical release poster
Directed by	Mark Burton Richard Starzak
Produced by	Paul Kewley Julie Lockhart
Written by	Mark Burton Richard Starzak
Starring	Justin Fletcher John Sparkes Omid Djalili
Music by	Ilan Eshkeri
Cinematography	Charles Copping Dave Alex Riddett
Editing by	Sim Evan-Jones
Studio	Aardman Animations
Distributed by	StudioCanal
Release date(s)	24 January 2015 (2015-01-24) (Sundance) 6 February 2015 (2015-02-06) (United Kingdom)
Running time	85 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English (no dialogue)
Budget	$25 million
Money made	$106.2 million

Shaun the Sheep Movie is a 2015 British stop motion animated adventure comedy film based on the 2007 British television series Shaun the Sheep, created by Nick Park, in turn a spin off of the Wallace and Gromit film, A Close Shave (1995). The film follows Shaun and his flock into the big city to rescue their farmer, who found himself amnesiac there as a result of their mischief.

It was produced by Aardman Animations, and financed by StudioCanal in association with Anton Capital Entertainment, with the former company also distributing the film in the United Kingdom and several other European countries. Richard Starzak and Mark Burton wrote and directed the film, Ilan Eshkeri composed the music, and Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, and Omid Djalili provided the voices. The film premiered on 24 January 2015, at the Sundance Film Festival, and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 6 February 2015.

The film made $106.2 million at the box office and was universally praised by critics, who called it "fun, absurd, and endearingly inventive." It holds an approval rating of 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and is one of the highest rated animated films on the website. Shaun the Sheep Movie was nominated at the 88th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, losing to the Disney/Pixar film Inside Out. It was nominated in The 73rd Golden Globe Awards, BAFTA Awards and won in the Toronto Film Critics Awards for Best Animated Film. It earned five nominations at the Annie Awards including Best Animated Feature. A stand-alone sequel entitled A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon was released on 18 October 2019.

Plot

Shaun, a mischievous sheep living with his flock at Mossy Bottom Farm, is bored with the routine of life on the farm. He concocts a plan to have a day off by tricking the farmer into going back to sleep by counting his sheep repeatedly. However, the caravan in which they put the farmer to bed accidentally rolls away, taking him into the city. Bitzer, the farmer's dog, chases after him. The farmer receives a blow to the head and is taken to a hospital, where he is diagnosed with amnesia before leaving. He wanders into a hair salon and, acting on a vague recollection of shearing his sheep, cuts a celebrity's hair. The celebrity loves the result and the farmer gains popularity as a hair stylist called "Mr. X".

Meanwhile, the sheep find life impossible without the farmer, so Shaun sneaks onto a bus to the city; to his surprise, the rest of the flock follow him on another bus. They disguise themselves as people and begin looking for the farmer, but Shaun is captured by Trumper, an overzealous animal-control worker. Shaun is reunited with Bitzer in the animal lock-up, and with the help of a homeless dog named Slip, they manage to escape while imprisoning Trumper. They find the farmer, but he does not recognize them, much to their sadness.

Shaun, Bitzer, and the flock take refuge in a dark alleyway when they find evidence of the farmer's memory loss, reviving their spirits. They devise a plan which involves putting the farmer to sleep again, returning him to the trailer on a pantomime horse (really the flock of sheep in an elaborate disguise), and hooking the trailer up to a bus returning to Mossy Bottom. The plan is initially successful, but they are pursued by Trumper (having escaped the lock-up), who is now intent on killing them outright.

At the farm, the group hides in a shed. The insane Trumper, using a tractor, tries to push the shed into a nearby rock quarry. The farmer wakes up, regains his memory, and Trumper is defeated through teamwork. Slip leaves, but is adopted by a bus driver who finds her on the road. The farmer and the animals have a renewed appreciation for each other, and the next day the farmer cancels the day's routine activities for an official day off. Epilogues show that the animal-control service is turned into an animal-protection centre, Trumper finds work wearing a chicken suit to promote a restaurant.

In a mid-credit scene, the farmer sees a news report detailing some of the mayhem he slept through during his rescue from the city, much to his and the animals' shock.

In a post-credit scene, a rooster (who had been holding a sign in the beginning of the film) carries a sign that says "The End" and he turns it and it says “Go home.” The rooster leaves the room. One of the flock comes to the room with a vacuum cleaner, and begins to clean.

Cast

Omid Djalili voiced Trumper.

Source of character names unless otherwise noted:

• Justin Fletcher as Shaun, a sheep who acts as leader of the flock
  • Fletcher also plays Timmy, a lamb who admires Shaun
• John Sparkes as The Farmer
  • Sparkes also does Bitzer, a dog who assists the Farmer
• Omid Djalili as Trumper, an Animal Containment worker
• Kate Harbour as Timmy's mum
  • Harbour also plays Merly, a worker at the hairdressers shop
• Richard Webber as Shirley, a fat sheep
• Tim Hands as Slip, a homeless dog
• Simon Greenall as the twins, two sheep
• Emma Tate as Hazel, a member of the flock
• Henry Burton as a junior doctor
  • Burton also does an Animal containment visitor
• Dhimant Vyas as a hospital consultant
• Sophie Laughton as an Animal containment visitor
• Nia Medi James as an operatic sheep
• Sean Connolly as Stylists
  • Connolly also plays the Maitre D, Golfer, Angry Panto Horse and Hospital Characters
• Stanley Unwin as Bus Station Announcer and Hospital Announcer
• Andy Nyman as Nuts, a sheep with strange eyes
• Jack Paulson as a celebrity with hair trouble
• Nick Park as himself

Soundtrack

Ilan Eshkeri composed the music for the film. The title song, "Feels Like Summer", was a collaboration between Tim Wheeler (of rock band Ash), composer Ilan Eshkeri and former-Kaiser Chief Nick Hodgson. The soundtrack was released in the United Kingdom digitally on 1 June 2015, and on CD on 29 June 2015. The Frederic Chopin composition Grand Valse Brillante is heard during the restaurant scene but is not included in the soundtrack.

Songs

1. Feels Like Summer By Tim Wheeler
2. Rocks By Primal Scream.
3. Search for the Hero By M People.
4. Big City By Eliza Dolittle
5. Bad to the Bone By George Thorogood and the Destroyers.
6. I'm a Wonderful Thing, Baby By Kid Creole and the Coconuts.
7. Home By Foo Fighters.
8. House of Fun By Madness
9. Shaun the Sheep - Life's A Treat (Rizzle Kicks Remix) By Mark Thomas, Vic Reeves and Rizzle Kicks

All music composed by Ilan Eshkeri, except as noted.

Sequel

On 14 September 2015, StudioCanal announced it was working with Aardman on a sequel.

On 25 October 2016, Aardman confirmed a sequel would go into pre-production in January 2017 as Shaun the Sheep Movie 2, with Richard Starzak, co-director of the first film, returning.

The sequel, titled A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, was released in the United Kingdom on 18 October 2019, while Netflix released the film in the United States on February 14, 2020.

Images for kids

• 

  Mark Burton and Richard Starzak, directors and writers of the film, at the San Francisco Film Society

See also

In Spanish: Shaun the Sheep Movie para niños