A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
We are playing catch up by reviewing films that are a part of the current awards season.
Okay, so this is an Aardman Animations production. That’s literally all you need to know. That piece of information guarantees some wholesome, creative, claymation gold. Then, you have Shaun the sheep: everyone’s favourite plasticine lamb. He is back after his first Oscar nominated journey, appropriately titled Shaun the Sheep Movie. I really liked it. If anyone could bring a series of dialogue-less shorts to feature length without much of an issue, it’s the Aardman crew. So, it was only time that they came back with the much anticipated sequel Farmageddon. The good news is that it’s your usual Aardman fare: lovely animation, adorable shenanigans, and pure joy.
The bad news is that this feels like one of the more basic, less inventive efforts that the studio has ever released. So the skinny is that an alien has crash landed near the Mossy Bottom Farm, and is in need of getting home; he bonds with Shaun quickly (who wouldn’t?). Then, Farmageddon tosses every science fiction reference at you, starting from the obvious (all of the 2001: A Space Odyssey jokes that you always see) to the more obscure (some Arrival love was surprising to see). Either way, it gets a bit much, and I’m just not used to seeing a film by these guys resort to these gags this frequently (especially when they’re as prominent as those 2001 ones). That wouldn’t be so bad if the story didn’t feel like a less full version of the previous film; instead of being lost, there is a search for something that is missing. I don’t mean to keep comparing, but even evaluating Farmageddon alone means I have to acknowledge how much it relies on tired tropes and gimmicks to get by.
Farmageddon is an adorable affair, through and through.
Again, this is still by the Aardman studios, so you know Farmageddon will never get annoying or unbearable. Whenever it does something dated or stale, it will do a few witty or adorable things instead. These range from the lovely design of the homesick alien, to the silliness that the rest of the flock of sheep have to do to please Farmer John (and his quest of capitalizing on the alien fanaticism as of late). Then there’s Bingo’s constant mixups, which are always fun because of his strict, authoritative ways (but here he gets into some real stupidities, without the film ever being sadistic towards him).
You just can’t get mad at a film like Farmageddon, proving that even at their possible worst, Aardman Animations are so knowledgable about what kind of stories, images, and gags will bring you the utmost glee. They just cannot lose. I prefer the original Shaun the Sheep Movie, and everything Wallace and Gromit (for starters), but Farmageddon is still so cute and blissful. It’s absolutely worth a try. At the very worst, you’ll get nothing out of it but smiles and giggles. You could also disagree with me and find all of the science fiction elements to be evidence of the studio never having been more daring. Either way, despite the qualms of safeness and/or the more obvious references and shticks, Farmageddon is just purely sweet, and that’s never a bad thing.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.