Shaun the Sheep Movie (English, 2015)

There are quite a number of animated features that boast of new and trending technologies being employed. With this movie, however, we are transported to the puppet like era that the current Gen-X experienced as kids. The strength of the technical team shows by bringing an episode to life as a full-length feature while keeping the story & nativity of characters untarnished.

The characters do not look imaginary; in fact they look like a mix of traits from various human beings we know. This makes the movie so relatable and the audience is somehow able to experience the emotions of these otherwise lifeless characters. The hunger pangs that the sheep feel, the disappointment of the dog on losing his master, the selfishness of the pigs contribute effectively. Also, as the plot progresses, new characters like the animal control inspector are introduced and have their defined characteristics which allow the creator to engage the audience.

The character arcs of each of the part results in them taking up a travel of their own to set things right. The master does it unknowingly; the animals do it to get their master back & the inspector does it to seek revenge. These separate pieces of individual storyline fix together snuggly and lift the movie on the whole.

The film, however cute and relatable, sometimes edges over to the other side of being over-dramatic and imaginary. The final climax takes the steam away from an otherwise carefully created storyline.