Shaun the Sheep (2015)

Had it really been ten years since I last watched a feature film from Aardman Animations? I'm afraid so. After the success of Chicken Run and The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, they had a string of less promising releases: Flushed Away, Arthur Christmas, and The Pirates! Band of Misfits. Fortunately, I had seen several episodes of the "Shaun the Sheep" TV series and thus knew it to be more in the vein of the Wallace & Gromit franchise. It was easier than I'd hoped to talk both parents into watching.

OK, the movie wasn't entirely a safe bet. Each episode streams less than 20 minutes, including the opening sequence, the end credits, two plots, and a little dance in the middle for filler. Maybe the studio just didn't want to spend any more time and resources on stop-action than necessary. But there was further room for doubt: Episodes consistently kept the setting to a little farm and, with only one human character, had absolutely no dialogue. Even in this 85-minute romp, which moves much of the action to "the Big City," humans say very little; and when they do, it's basically Simlish. Apart from the background music, I've heard more spoken English -- heck, more verifiable words in any language -- from Jacques Tati animations.

The plot is still Chicken Run simple, naturally. Shaun, the diminutive ram with probably the most intelligence and certainly the most initiative in the small flock, gets tired of the daily routine (funny, he never seemed bored on the show) and arranges to trick the unnamed farmer and the dog Bitzer into giving them a day off. But a series of mishaps sends the farmer into the city -- and retrograde amnesia. Discovering how unfit they are to take care of themselves, the sheep must make the most of their wits (and preternaturally dexterous hooves) to find and retrieve their master, knowing that cities don't take well to sheep on the loose. Especially when mean Mr. A. Trumper, animal control specialist, gets involved.

You can expect only so much in character development when only three characters have names. I had enough trouble keeping the androgynous sheep straight, apart from Shaun and the one totally adorable lamb. The humans are largely parodies of general types, not very bright. You'll take more interest in the supporting animals, including a stray female dog whose street smarts come in handy.

But if you're like me, the above obstacles will matter very little. Aardman is back in top form, making children and adults laugh repeatedly and sometimes warming our hearts (not hard to do when the animals look so stinking cute). The lack of dialogue helps, not only to focus on the strengths of slapstick (which can be quite clever in their own right) but to deal with little kids in the theater talking more loudly than they ought. And lest you think they'll find it too old-fashioned, there are a few appearances of modern technology.

I would almost say that Inside Out has some genuine competition at the next Oscars. After all, an Aardman film trumped the more meaningfully artistic Howl's Moving Castle. But StS hasn't found more than a cult following in the U.S. so far, with a paltry box office take in spite of critical raves. Please do your part to turn this around!