Many years ago, Aardman Animation’s beloved Wallace & Gromit franchise premiered a little non-speaking sheep in their short A Close Shave. That sheep’s name was Shaun, and he went on to lead his own flock and star in his own TV show titled Shaun the Sheep. Now, Shaun will be going on a feature-length adventure in the Shaun the Sheep movie.
The first teaser trailer arrived today, along with a new poster for the film, and while it does not give us much plot, it does show off that Aardman charm that made Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run so very popular. The actual story of the film involves the badly behaved sheep getting into some mischief that results, accidentally, in the Farmer being taken away from the farm. So Shaun heads off to the big city to find his master, with sheepdog Bitzer and the rest of the Flock in hot pursuit.
Shaun is a famously silent character in the Aardman world, communicating via bleats rather than being personified in the way that American viewers might expect. But he’s a clever, amusing character all the same, and the perfect subject for a feature length film. Aardman movies tend to depend on the visual aspect of film for their humor, even with the more talky Wallace & Gromit or the very talky Chicken Run. Shaun the Sheep looks like it will keep the studio’s run of successes going without too much difficulty.
Shaun the Sheep will premiere May 15th, 2015 in the United Kingdom. There’s no US release date as yet, but we’ll let you know when one becomes available.
