by Jeff Schultz

Totally sweet, lovingly made, this British Claymation feature is of course in the Wallace & Gromit vein: it comes from Nick Park’s Aardman Animations. It’s so lighthearted and delightful that when the inevitable moment-of-true-peril comes, while you might feel silly for feeling upset and involved, you still will. This movie could be a great introduction to the concept of “silent film”. There’s no dialogue, just sound effects and music; the entire story is told visually, and there are moments of brilliance: a sequence involving sheep disguised as humans trying to act naturally in a restaurant, a dog in surgeon’s gear distracted by a bone, a SILENCE OF THE LAMBS reference that is even marked in the credits. SHAUN would be a lovely companion piece on a double bill with BABE: PIG IN THE CITY.