Created by Nick Park
Featuring Voices by John Sparkes, Kate Harbour, Justin Fletcher, Richard Nelson
I just simply love anything and everything that comes out of Aardman Animation. From Chicken Run, to Wallace and Gromit, Creature Comforts to Shaun the Sheep, I love it all. Hit Entertainment recently released another collection of Shaun the Sheep short films on DVD.
The Series
Anyone who is mad for Wallace and Gromit is familiar with little Shaun the Sheep. He was the star of the 1995 Oscar winning animated short A Close Shave. Hit Entertainment released the first collection of shorts with the release of Shaun the Sheep: Back to the Baa and now we have 8 new shorts to enjoy.
All of your favorite characters are here: Shaun the Sheep, Bitzen the Sheepdog, the well meaning but bumbling Farmer, and the naughty pigs. All of your favorite sheep are back too: Shirley, the cute baby Timmy and Timmy’s mom, and the fan favorites: the sheep duo. The sheep duo can be found doing various things in the background like drinking soda pop and burping or playing Frisbee or other games. They are always cute and worth looking for in any episode.
The episodes included in this release are Shape up with Shaun, Bathtime, Fetching, Take Away, Still Life, Scrumping, Talk with Me and The Kite.
The stories, or rather situations, in Shaun the Sheep are told and expressed beautifully uncomplicated and all are rather sweet and funny. They are appropriate for all ages and everyone in your household, from young to old, will be able to sit together and enjoy Shaun and his adventures. They are also told, remarkably, without or with very little dialogue so there isn’t language barrier of any kind.
Watching Shaun and the gang try to get hot water to take their baths or helping Shirley the Sheep lose a bit of weight or flying a kite, you are going to get a kick of this wonderful series.
Do I have to tell you that the claymation that is Aardman Animation specialty is wonderful again here? It is amazing what they do with tiny lumps of clay. I don’t think anyone does it as good as Nick Park and his team.
Anyone that calls themselves an Aardman Animation fan or just a fan of claymation in general needs to own this latest collection of Shaun and his buddies.
8.5/10
The Video
The show is presented in the original full screen aspect ratio. The colors look vibrant and I did not notice any grain or artifacts. While this doesn’t look like the Wall-e Blu Ray you might have in your collection, it is nice, just not spectacular.
7/10
The Audio
Presented in Dolby Digital, the sound is vibrant. Again this isn’t the disc you pop in to give the 5.1 system a workout, but fine for the series presented.
6/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features
The film is presented in a standard case with a cute picture of Shaun on the cover.
The only bonus feature that is offered is a sing a long version of the theme song that you might have some fun with. When you select play all, at the end of each episodes, a few trailers for other shows will play, but are not offered as a separate selection.
While the bonus features are extremely skimpy, the show is enjoyable and a must have for Wallace and Gromit fans.
2/10
Overall ( Not an Average) 7/10
The Review
The Movie 8.5/10
The Video 7/10
The Audio 6/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features 2/10
Overall ( Not an Average) 7/10