Shaun the Sheep 2015

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: "Shaun the Sheep Movie" may be less elaborate than Aardman masterpieces like "Curse of the Were-Rabbit", but there's still much to enjoy. It's not often you see a cartoon that references both "Night of the Hunter" and "Silence of the Lambs." Read more

Guy Lodge, Variety: A sweet-natured but cleverly off-kilter feature-length debut for Aardman Animations' plucky farmyard hero. Read more

Jesse Hassenger, AV Club: Every once in a while, the movie delivers a laugh big enough to dwarf its more modest charms-further emphasizing that this is junior-level Aardman. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: The Shaun the Sheep Movie manages to be smart, moving and hilarious without the inclusion of a single word of dialogue. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: The sight gags are so meticulously designed that they often recall Rube Goldberg inventions; much of the fun derives from seeing how the filmmakers pull off their elaborate comic scenarios. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Endlessly inventive and wildly funny, Shaun the Sheep Movie has the frenetic pacing of some silent comedy classic. Read more

Maricar Estrella, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: For a film without words, the story speaks volumes. Read more

Joe McGovern, Entertainment Weekly: Even with its stream of visual puns, there's no denying its humongous bleating heart. Read more

Leslie Felperin, Hollywood Reporter: The animation itself is pleasingly tactile and hand posed, up to Aardman's usual high standards. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: Playful, absurd and endearingly inventive, this unstoppably amusing feature reminds us why Britain's Aardman Animations is a mainstay of the current cartooning golden age. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: It's a light, breezy movie -- fluffy, you might say -- that is clearly suitable even for pre-verbal viewers. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Add "Shaun the Sheep Movie" to your list of summer screenings. Ewe'll be glad you did. Read more

Jordan Hoffman, New York Daily News: Some of the most pure visual storytelling you're going to see this year. Read more

Neil Genzlinger, New York Times: The movie is based on a British TV series, and if the individual sheep characters are not as well defined here as they are in that long-running show, their general irresistibility comes through. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Grownups will enjoy every delicious irony and twisted sight gag that floats over kids' heads. If the brats don't get the shout-outs to The Night of the Hunter, The Silence of the Lambs and Scorsese's Cape Fear, let them suck on it. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Come back to the big city - and the big screen - anytime, Shaun. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: The movie could be studied as an encyclopedia of sight gags, most of which are well executed, if not entirely original (which won't matter to small-fry viewers). Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: A dialogue-free, non-digitally designed, plain old stop-motion animated film that is hilarious beyond human measure. Read more

Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail: Visually appealing and animal friendly, Shaun the Sheep celebrates summer - a break in the routine, loving it on the lam. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: Clever bits, sight gags and situational slapstick will appeal to both kids and adults, especially the flock's problems carrying out smart sheep Shaun's elaborate schemes. Read more

Inkoo Kang, TheWrap: Refreshingly for children (but especially for adults), there are no lessons to learn and no faults to admonish. Instead, it's an 84-minute, dialogue-free distillation of all the innocent fun we wish childhood could be. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: Only Aardman could find an irresistible movie in industrial amounts of clay and a story of an amnesiac farmer and his flock at loose in the big city. Read more

Liz Braun, Toronto Sun: Shaun The Sheep is suitable entertainment for anyone who likes to laugh out loud. Read more

Simon Abrams, Village Voice: Like a great amusement park ride, Shaun the Sheep Movie is consistently enjoyable. Read more

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture: Plenty of bigger, more grown-up movies could learn a thing or two from its humanity. Read more

Jen Chaney, Washington Post: Who needs words when every frame is worth a thousand of them? Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Anyone who doesn't have a grand time watching 'Shaun the Sheep Movie' is suffering from a fractured funny bone that needs to be reset. Read more

Peter Keough, Boston Globe: Like a great silent movie, it creates its pathos and comedy out of the concrete objects being animated, building elaborate gags involving everyday items transformed into Rube Goldberg devices. Read more