Hello everyone and here I am with a review of the brand new animated feature from Aardman Animation! For those who don’t know I am huge fan of their work and really I’m just a fan of stop motion in general as it is among my favorite types of animation. But Aardman in particular is known for their fun stories, and charming sense of humour that is present in all their works like Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run, the Pirates Band of Misfits, and of course Shaun the Sheep. Heck I even really like their attempts at the computer animation like Flushed Away, and Arthur Christmas. Anyway though as for the original Shaun the Sheep movie well I really do enjoy that one a lot as it had everything I love about the studio and it was a nice breath of fresh air to see a mainstream animated use visuals to tell the story and not get bogged down in explaining every little detail. So when this sequel I announced I was of course really excited even if it ended up releasing on Netflix instead of theaters. Then again not only does it mean more people could get a chance to see but it also gives them another high quality animated movie under their belt. Now let’s see what kind of intergalactic shenanigans Shaun and the gang have gotten unto now.
Shaun and his friends continue to do what they do in Mossy Bottom Farm which is get into all sorts of crazy activities that get them into trouble with the dog, Bitzer. Things go too far when Bitzer bands every single one of these activities to not get in trouble with Farmer John. Shaun of course is not too happy with these changes and schemes with his flock to do things in secret. But one night while in the process of trying to get some pizza, Shaun discovers that they were all gone. He soon finds out why as he finds an alien hiding in the barn named Lu La whose spaceship just recently crashed landed in the town of Mossingham. Her, and the flock actually get along, causing more mischief around the farm, but Shaun eventually has to take her back to her UFO so she can get back home. That might be easier said than done though as the Ministry of Alien Detection (M.A.D.) led by Agent Red, who is obsessed with trying to prove to the world that aliens exist, is on their trail setting them on an adventure to bring Lu La home! Meanwhile at the farm, Farmer John plans on building an alien based themed theme park as a tourist attraction to cash on in on the current alien craze going on in light of strange events, to afford a brand new harvester.
Just like the original 2015 movie, this movie relies purely on visuals to tell its story (with the exception of some grumbles here and there) making it essentially a silent movie and I feel it adds to the simplistic charm of these movies and makes them stand out from other animated franchises. Sometimes it’s nice to have s simple story told well and this movie does that very well indeed. This time around it’s a trying to bring an alien back to their home type adventure akin to E.T. and it makes for a slightly more focused final product than the original (which is still great) and is executed very well. There is actually a surprising amount of effective emotion throughout the picture to help make the proceedings even more investing and brings some depth to the characters. As for the humor, well I’m more than happy to say that Aardman has once again made another hilarious laugh a minute comedy with this one as while there are many jokes thrown at you, the vast majority of them land and there are plenty of little details that I much appreciated. Given the story, the movie pokes fun at certain sci fi movie tropes and everything from E.T., to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, to a stand out alien parody is ripe to be parodied and they work whether you get the references or not which is a sign of a great comedy. There’s also a lot of physical comedy that is a lot of fun to watch (more on that later), a lot of nice, hidden jokes in the background, and even some clever one off gags that were really amusing like the M.A.D. agents always wearing hazmat suits, and one involving a China shop always getting destroyed. Heck if I’m going to be honest in addition to being a little better structured than the first, it might even be funnier which is sure heck of a feat given how comedy sequels can turn out sometimes.
As far the animation goes it is always a pleasure seeing more stop motion animation and this one still retains that Aardman look we’ve come to know and love. They’ve really upped their game in this regard and this is really impressive visually. Of course the characters all have that classic cartoony design that we see in all their movies and it’s always a pleasant sight as they do look very appealing, and memorable and the facial expressions do a great job of conveying their emotions. The movements are really impressive especially in the scenes that involve slapstick (like in some chase sequences across town, and there’s this one part in a super market that was very well done) while the backgrounds look very well crafted and have a lot of nice little details thrown in throughout. I also really enjoyed the action climax involving the amusement park, and a mech which utilized the setting nicely and was really exciting. There’s even some 3D effects utilized like with the space ship that fit right in with the rest of the film seamlessly and it makes this movie technologically speaking, their most impressive movie yet. Also thought the lighting in particular was really well done in certain scenes like how some the colors, and shadows are reflected and it is really great work from the artists responsible. I will say though that my biggest issue with the movie was the use of modern pop music as it felt really out of place and did not fit in with the tone of the movie that much and could’ve been taken out (though the use of sound in general in some places was pretty clever). As for the characters well Shaun is once again his usual trouble making self though it was neat seeing him actually try to be the responsible one given his current situation and that did help add to his sweet relationship with Lu La who is just adorable and made for a really entertaining side kick character and her learning about our planet made for some of the biggest laughs in the picture. Bitzer the dog is also a highlight as we see him trying to deal with Shaun’s antics and how he’ll get of the mess he’s gotten into, being mistaken for an alien out all things! The rest of flock get a lot of entertaining moments as well (a building montage for the amusement park being one) while Farmer John’s subplot feels like something straight out of Gravity Falls (that’s a compliment) and its always amusing seeing him be completely oblivious to what the animals are up to. Then there’s Agent Red who does make for a surprisingly effective baddie and is actually pretty sympathetic in regards to her motivations on wanting to prove aliens exist. In all Their all a lot of fun to hang out with and show why this property has such mass appeal to begin with.
While it is a shame this didn’t get to hit U.S. theaters I am glad that Netflix decided to pick it up so that more people can see it because it really does deserve to be seen by many. Farmageddon is just a really fun, entertaining sequel that has everything you’d expect from an Aardman production with a charming sense of humor, a simple yet heartfelt story, extremely well done animation, and lovable characters. I actually might like this one better than the first as it does improve upon it in certain areas and I would seriously consider it among the best comedy sequels in recent memory. If your a fan of their work like I am than you will most certainly find a lot to like here and if your in the mood for some good laughs then this is a great option to check out. It also makes me a little more excited for the upcoming Chicken Run sequel that’s in the works, as this movie shows that Aardman can indeed make a more than worthy follow up to an already great predecessor.
Rating: A
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