Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom – The biggest Flockload of fun for the franchise yet

After first appearing in Nick Park’s 1995 Wallace & Gromit short film A Close Shave, receiving his own series in 2007, and appearing in two films, Shaun the Sheep is baaack as a maaad scientist for his third.

A few days before Halloween, Shaun (non-verbal bleats and sounds provided by Justin Fletcher, who also voices Shaun’s younger cousin Timmy) and the Flock are tending to their secret pumpkin patch, hiding it from the Farmer and sheepdog Bitzer (both voiced by John Sparkes). When the Farmer stumbles across it, he wrecks them all, leading Shaun to get creative with a rescued seed, using a Home-Made Science! book to grow new ones at a rapid pace.

Meanwhile, the Farmer is examining his baldness, mourning the luscious locks of his youth. He wants to impress new character the Vet (Nina Sosanya) and invite her to the Halloween Hoedown, so he slaps on some Hair-Grow, which has been tainted by Shaun’s concoction... Soon after, he goes missing, and a gigantic, furry beast appears in the woods of Mossingham.

The similarities to Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit are apparent, but a good idea is a good idea when it’s executed so creatively. Shaun’s first foray into horror, co-directed by Steve Cox and Matthew Walker in their feature directorial film debut, is a success (and it's a great gateway horror film for little ones at that).

It’s also the most ambitious film yet for the farm animals, with double the sets (40) normally used. These involve Mossingham Docks and a disused windmill on the farm where Shaun creates his science lab.

While the series is always set at midday, midsummer, with a blue sky, it’s the witching hour here, with dusk and dawn and plenty of autumnal colours like oranges and reds, and Halloween ones, including purples, blues and greens. Shaun even has a new look, sporting singed hair from being electrocuted and wearing a lab coat and goggles equipped with a torch and different tools.

Co-writers Giles Pilbrow and Mark Burton’s spooky setting comes with plenty of gags, so it never veers into being too scary for kids (think Scooby-Doo and The Addams Family influences), but adults will love horror references that span from Psycho and Friday the 13th to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Nosferatu.

There’s even a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it nod to a certain evil, shall we say, “chicken” from the Aardman Animations universe. Another shudder-worthy addition? A delivery driver with a fragile parcel and not a care in the world…

The technical artistry – 30 animators worked on the movie and 285 puppets were made for it – and the stop-motion storytelling never fails to be impressive, especially because Shaun the Sheep’s world is a silent one, relying on universal visuals. But instead of being completely dialogue-free, a few words are exchanged over text message here, which feels like another bold move that pays off.

If the first Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) was about the mischievous sheep’s relationship with the Farmer; the second, Farmageddon (2019), about his sibling-like bond with Bitzer and alien Lu-La; the third, The Beast of Mossy Bottom, is about Shaun on his own, almost falling out with the Flock in his pursuit of crazy science. It ups the jeopardy and tension, plus it feels fresh with the addition of new characters, including the Farmer’s love interest.

Shaun has been evolving from the young lamb in A Close Shave for a long time now, turning into the confident, cheeky leader of his devoted mates. He’s still fluffy, still lovable, but he grows up even more for an audience that’s growing up with him in The Beast of Mossy Bottom, which makes it the biggest Flockload of fun for the franchise yet. With the film coming out before Halloween, all the dress-up ideas are ready-made and right there, so start stocking up on the cotton wool balls.

Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom is released in UK cinemas on Friday 18 September 2026.

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