Shaun the Sheep
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| Shaun the Sheep | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Animated children's television series |
| Created by | Nick Park |
| Developed by | Richard Goleszowski Alison Snowden David Fine |
| Voices of | Justin Fletcher Kate Harbour John Sparkes Richard Webber |
| Theme music composer | Mark Thomas |
| Opening theme | Sung by Vic Reeves |
| Country of origin | UK |
| Language(s) | Not language specific. |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 40 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Miles Bullough Peter Lord Nick Park |
| Producer(s) | Aardman Animations |
| Running time | 7 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC One, CBBC, Disney Channel |
| Picture format | PAL (576i), Widescreen |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original run | 5 March 2007 – Present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Shaun the Sheep is a British stop-motion animated children's television series produced by Aardman Animations, first aired in the UK on CBBC in March 2007.
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[edit] History
The character first appeared in the 1995 Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit short film A Close Shave. Sucked into Wallace's Knit-o-matic contraption, the sheep is accidentally shorn, so Wallace names him "Shaun" (a pun as "Shaun" is pronounced "shorn"). Shaun later appeared in the 2002 series Cracking Contraptions episode, Shopper 13, ostensibly to rescue a wayward wheel of cheese. The popularity of the character, as expressed in the success of Shaun the Sheep merchandise, led to this spin-off series of 40 7-minute episodes.[1]
The second series (the second lot of twenty episodes) started on 3 September, 2007 at 4.10pm on the new look CBBC, with two episodes being shown. Some characters also appeared in two idents for the relaunched CBBC.[2]
[edit] Synopsis
A premise of the series is that Shaun the sheep exhibits human intelligence, creativity, and behaviour in a barnyard, which usually provides a situational comedy conflict which Shaun must resolve before the end of each episode. Recurring themes include the characters evading the sheepdog Bitzer and avoiding discovery by the Farmer. In the first episode, a stray cabbage bouncing into the field provokes an impromptu football game. In the second episode, a freezing cold sheep dip sends Shaun on a commando raid to get hot water from the Farmer’s bathtub.
Episodes are a combination of slapstick and classic silent comedy in Aardman’s recognisable animation style. There is no spoken dialogue, even by human characters. In this way it is reminiscent of early silent comedy films and even Pingu.
[edit] International broadcasters
The series has been aired on Danish television, is currently airing on Indian (Nick), Icelandic, German, Japanese, Finnish, Polish, Croatian, Dutch, Norwegian, and American television, and is scheduled for broadcast in 73 countries in total.
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[edit] Episodes
[edit] Reception
Reviews of the series were consistently positive. Harry Venning of "The Stage" found "characterisation charming and the animation superb. All this before even a mention of how funny and splendidly slapstick the script is."[3] The Guardian noted that the series "hits the four-to-seven-year-old age group smack in the eye."[4] Charles Arthur wrote "classic Aardman style that leaves me laughing out loud."[5] On forums, the show has received rave reviews, with Shaun becoming a favourite among adults as well as children.[6] The Daily Mail's "Weekend Magazine" gave it an average of five stars in the past six months
[edit] Major characters
Shaun the Sheep has an inquisitive, mischievous nature which distinguishes him from the other sheep, and leads him into tricky situations from which he usually recovers. He is popular, and is a natural leader. He is also a moral character who will try to "make things right".
Bitzer is the long-suffering sheepdog who watches the flock. His dimmish owner never notices the flock is anything but normal, and Bitzer tries to keep it that way. He tolerates antics, but steps in if things get out of hand. Bitzer acts as foreman, blowing his whistle, checking the sheep into and out of the field and lunching with a flask of tea and sandwiches. However, Bitzer never misses an opportunity to take it easy, which gives the animals opportunity for mischief. The relationship between Bitzer and the animals is essentially friendly, and he seems to be friends with Shaun, but not to the extent of abandoning his duties. Bitzer will do anything when he is offered a game of "Fetch". He also enjoys listening to electronic music on his MP3 player.
A character designed by a Blue Peter competition winner, XX2000 Robot Dog, will replace Bitzer in one episode.[7]
The Farmer is a solitary and plain figure, who tends to his smallholding farm with loyal Bitzer. He goes about his business expressing little emotion except the occasional burst of frustration when things go wrong, or an air of bemusement at the results of some of Shaun’s antics. He is enthusiastic about new technology.
Like all the human characters in the series, we see him from the animals’ point of view and his speech comes across as a series of grunts and mumbles. He is unaware that his farmyard charges are anything other than normal animals.
The Flock are typical sheep, content to spend the day chewing the cud until Shaun gets an idea into his head, when they will easily follow his lead. They are an enthusiastic audience for Shaun, but are clumsy, easily frightened and not bright, which undermines Shaun’s exploits. While the flock mainly acts as a unified entity, some characters stand out within the group:
- Shirley is so much bigger than the other sheep that she has to be pushed from place to place and can eat just about anything that comes her way. She is useful as a trampoline, a battering ram and her capacious fleece provides a hiding place for unlikely items.
- Timmy is an adorable baby lamb who sucks a dummy and gets into dangerous situations. He loves teddy bears and will cry if he is without them. He likes pizza, and only has one tooth.
- Timmy's Mother wears curlers in her hair, and is a bit careless about maternal duties. But when her offspring goes astray, she is inconsolable until he is safely back in her care.
The Naughty Pigs are housed in a yard next to the field, and are the bane of the sheep's life. Mocking, cantankerous, greedy and generally lazy, they still find time to disrupt Shaun’s schemes.
[edit] Minor characters
[edit] Animals
The Cockerel appears at the start of the opening credits.
The Mother Hen and her annoying, chirpy Chicks appear in Who’s The Mummy?.
Baby Chicks are chicks that easily annoy Shaun. They always follow wherever Shaun goes and they like the fleece of Shaun. They appear in Who's The Mummy.
The Duck suffers collateral damage due to Shaun’s exploits in Off The Baa and Bath Time.
Mower Mouth the Goat is an unstoppable eating machine – while not an unfriendly character, all his considerable energy is focused on his next meal. He appears in Mower Mouth and Saturday Night Shaun.
The Bull is belligerent, powerful, and easily provoked by Shaun’s antics and the colour red. He appears in The Bull, Saturday Night Shaun, Who's The Mummy? and Heavy metal Shaun. When Shaun orders a red bed sheet, he stops chasing the other sheep (painted red) around the farm.
The Mole is a rude pest in Mountains Out Of Molehills. He is fearless when mocking Shaun, but not so brave when Mother Mole turns up.
The Bees
She-Bitzer is a female dog belonging to campers who pitch their tent by the sheep field in Fetching. After a brief courtship, she and Bitzer are cruelly separated.
Pidsley is the Farmer's lazy and selfish cat who can be remarkably quick and vicious, and dislikes it when the sheep sneak into the farmer's house. Appears in Timmy In A Tizzy and Saturday Night Shaun.
The Frog is found in the scarecrow's hat, then in the pocket of the coat which Shaun takes. He is given as currency along with three buttons, a small comb and a kazoo in exchange for a number of pizzas. He seems unwilling to become the pizza delivery boy's pet.
The Mouse is used by the Naughty Pigs as a prank on the flock in Things That Go Bump.
The Naughty Pigs live in a sty adjacent to the sheep field, and take much pride in insulting the sheep and waylaying their schemes, often quite cruelly. They generally get their come-uppance.
[edit] Humans
Pizza Delivery Boy is a teenager who rides a moped and works in the local pizzeria. Also moonlights as a postman in Saturday Night Shaun.
The Farmer’s Niece is a sweet cherub whose over-enthusiastic love of animals spells trouble for Shaun.
The Ramblers are a liberal, nature-loving couple in Shaun Shoots The Sheep.
The Scarecrow is not a human character, but a handy prop which Shaun uses in Take Away and Things That Go Bump.
Fair Stall Man is confused when sheep win on his fair stall and the sheep choose a cuddly toy that they want.
Bus Driver is a bus driver
The Granny is a short-tempered, short-sighted old lady, appears in Takeaway and Save The Tree.
The Camper is a man who camps on the farmer's field. He leaves litter around the field. The flock enjoys messing in his things, which angers him.
The Art Collector is never seen but arrives in a stretched limo buying the sheep's much overpainted canvas for a large wad of notes, which the farmer receives with ecstasy.
[edit] References to popular culture
As with the series' parent show Wallace and Gromit, there many allusions to scenes from movies such as Star Wars, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, The Matrix and Pulp Fiction. These include:
- Shirley's training in the episode Shape Up With Shaun is based on the film Rocky.
- The paintings parodied in Still Life include the Mona Lisa and Constable's The Hay Wain.
- In Buzz Off Bees, the Farmer appears in his hooded beekeepers outfit, with accompanying Darth Vader-style heavy breathing.
- The infamous shower scene from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is spoofed in the episode The Little Sheep of Horrors, whose name is based on the 1960 film The Little Shop of Horrors and its 1986 remake.
- In Hiccups, Shaun turns his guitar amplifier up to 11 in a reference to a scene in This Is Spinal Tap.
- In Fleeced, the Farmer drags one of the sheep away for shearing, slamming a large metal sliding door closed behind him. This is particularly reminiscent of the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
- Also in Fleeced, the sheep breakout and accompanying music is very reminiscent of British WW2 POW films (eg The Great Escape).
- In Shaun Encounters the alien thrashes his car with a tree branch in the same way as Basil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers.
- In one episode a sheep is reading a magazine called "Bleat", A spoof of celebrity gossip magazine "Heat".
- Near the end of Off the Baa the well-known Nessun Dorma theme from Puccini's opera Turandot is used.
- At the end of Mower Mouth the shrubs are clearly reminiscent of those in Edward Scissorhands.
[edit] References
- ^ Shaun the Sheep gets his own show. BBC News, 23 September, 2004.
- ^ Web
- ^ TV Review The Stage. Harry Venning. 12 March 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2007
- ^ Last Night's TV Guardian UK. 6 March 2007. Nancy Banks-Smith. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
- ^ Roll over, Pixar - Shaun the sheep’s here to tickle your funny bone CharlesArthur.com 20 March 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2007
- ^ Forum entry DigitalSpy.
- ^ Blue Peter reveals new character for Shaun the Sheep. BBC Press Release. March 28, 2006. Retrieved 2007-04-30
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Fan site
- Shaun the Sheep at bbc.co.uk/cbbc
- Aardman Animation official website
- BBC Press release (animation series)
- Timmy the Lamb tribute website
- CBBC 2007 Ident (Featuring Shaun, Timmy and 2 other Sheep)
- 2nd CBBC Shaun The Sheep Ident (After launch Promo)
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