Review: ‘Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom’ is woolly, woolly good

The phrase “pure cinema” gets thrown around a lot, often ironically, but there’s a case to be made that Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom, Aardman Studios’ latest stop-motion adventure from the Wallace & Gromit extended universe, qualifies for this distinction. 

Following Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) and A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019), The Beast at Mossy Bottom finds our ovine friends in the run-up to Halloween when their unnamed farmer accidentally destroys their secret pumpkin patch at Mossy Bottom Farm. Wanting to replenish their stock before the big day, Shaun turns mad scientist and concocts a magic potion that supercharges their growth but also mistakenly ends up in the farmer’s hair-growth bottle, which he then uses in a bid to impress the local vet he has a crush on. This quickly turns him into a giant hairy Bigfoot, and the pumpkins into boulder-sized monstrosities. Thus sets in motion a series of hijinks, misunderstandings, cleverly constructed setpieces, and one delightful visual gag after another as the flock seeks to undo Shaun’s shenanigans and the vet to solve the Bigfoot mystery. 

Led by co-directors Steve Cox and Matthew Walker, the film’s creative team works in lots of winking thematic references for the grown-ups, including Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dance, Frankenstein, Psycho, and other horror-adjacent standbys, plus a fun needle-drop of “Monster” by the Welsh band The Automatic. Add in its autumnal accoutrements and kid-friendly spookiness and this is now a shoo-in for my annual fall movies watchlist. 

Aardman’s animated offerings have always been a breath of fresh air in the realm of kids fare specifically, but also movies writ large. While other modern films are drained of color and appealing lighting, the Shauniverse is absolutely resplendent with rich, warm hues and print-worthy tableaus. While CGI slop has taken over Hollywood blockbusters, these stop-motion creations are lovingly and literally handmade frame by frame by human artisans. And while the Netflix model of having characters reiterate the plot to distracted viewers slowly pervades cinema, The Beast of Mossy Bottom has no dialogue whatsoever in a purely visual story that demands your attention—yet earns every bit of it. 

That’s worth repeating: this is a feature-length movie with no verbal dialogue. The sheep don’t speak at all and the humans only grunt or mumble or use whatever sounds are needed to convey the needs of the story. It’s like the first act of WALL-E stretched out to 80 minutes without any saggy parts. This is not only an impressive feat but also ensures the story remains completely legible to viewers of all ages and language comprehension levels.

So if you have a little kid in your life who’s into Halloween—even if that’s just your inner-child—take them to see this, because they deserve well-made, good-natured movies that don’t condescend to them just like the rest of us do.