Created by Nick Park
“In order to be an immaculate member of a flock of sheep, one must above all be a sheep oneself.” Albert Einstein
Oh, little Shaun! Ever since I first saw you in the original Wallace and Gromit short “A Close Shave”, I have thought you were the cutest. With your big expressive golf ball eyes, you can emit more emotion than a lot of Hollywood leading men, such as Scott Speedman or Josh Duhamel. So, I course I was happy when another collection of your short films reached my doorstep.
The Series
If you are familiar with the great films and characters that Nick Park and his animators at Aardman Animation produce, then you will love the short films featuring Shaun the Sheep.
The basic foundation of the series is that Shaun the sheep shows signs of human intelligence, creativity, and behavior while spending his days at his farm. His personality and wit usually provides a situational comedy conflict which Shaun must resolve before the end of each episode and thus, saving the day and making the farm a nice place to live for himself and the other sheep and farm critters.
Offered in this most recent collection of short films is Washday, Tooth Fairy, The Farmer’s Niece, Snore Worn Shaun, Helping Hound and Big Top Timmy.
Of course I enjoyed all that were offered but I have a few favorites from those offered in this collection.
The Farmer’s Niece finds Shaun and Bitzer the sheep trying to entertain the Farmer’s less than charming niece while he is baking her a cake.
Tooth Fairy finds Shaun trying to help Bitzer with his dental concerns and Helping Hound finds the gang of sheep dealing with a new robotic sheepdog that the Farmer has purchased to keep an eye on things at the farm when he is absent.
Snore Worn Shaun finds the sharp little sheep Shaun dealing with the consequences of Shirley the Sheep’s incessant snoring.
Shaun the Sheep is presented completely dialogue free so these play very much like the classic silent film comedies of Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin. They are very family friendly so everyone, no matter their age, can enjoy these charming comedy bits.
In this age of ear piercing and brain numbing kid’s entertainment, something as sincerely engaging and amusing as Shaun the Sheep is a welcome oasis for the heart and soul.
So, fans of Aardman Animation will add this to the collection without hestitation.
8/10
The Video
Shaun the Sheep: A Woolly Good Time is presented in the original full frame aspect ratio. The colors are vibrant and I did not notice any instances of grain or artifacts. The level of detail is impressive and the black levels are decent.
6/10
The Audio
Shaun the Sheep: A Woolly Good Time is in Dolby Digital Surround. The sound effects are presented vibrantly and since these are essentially silent films, there isn’t any dialogue to judge. While not the disc to pop in to give the sound system a workout, it suits the material presented just fine.
6/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features
Shaun the Sheep: A Woolly Good Time is standard amaray case with Shaun’s sweet little mug on the cover.
There are a few bonus features to explore. The Mini Making of Shaun is a featurette showing how the show is created and rounding out the bonus features is a Sing A Long with Shaun that features the title song with lyrics.
The score is going to be a lower in this category because of the scarcity of bonus material.
3/10
Overall (Not an Average) 7/10
The Review
The Series 8/10
The Video 7/10
The Audio 7/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features 3/10
Overall (not an average) 7/10