Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom

Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom is the third feature film from Aardman's long-running series, released in U.S. theaters by GKIDS, with directors Steve Cox and Matthew Walker and voices from Justin Fletcher (Shaun), John Sparkes (the Farmer), Nina Sosanya (the Vet) and Paul Whitehouse. Like the TV show and earlier movies, it tells its story without real dialogue. The characters communicate through mumbles, noises and expressive faces, which keeps things easy for young kids to follow. It runs about 80 minutes, a comfortable length for early-elementary attention spans. The setup is a Halloween comedy. After the Farmer wrecks the flock's pumpkin patch, Shaun's science experiment goes wrong, a hairy creature turns up in the woods, and the Farmer is mistaken for the monster. Common Sense Media describes the scares as mild and played for laughs, with no one seriously hurt, and the MPA's PG rating is for mild scary action. The spooky bits are the kind of Halloween imagery kids know from costumes and parties: characters walking like zombies, a sheep wrapped in toilet paper like a mummy, ketchup that briefly looks like blood, an angry village mob armed with inflatable tools, and a giant pumpkin that swallows someone who is unharmed. A chainsaw appears, and humans are hit with tranquilizer darts. Very sensitive kids may find the monster hunt and the mob scene more tense than the jokes suggest, but the tone stays silly throughout. There is almost nothing to worry about elsewhere. Language is limited to an 'OMG' in a text message, there is a gross-out gag with a dog bagging his own poop, the sheep are given medication, and one character appears in underpants. A shy, unspoken romance develops between the Farmer and the Vet. Two minor background characters are women getting married to each other, and the village is diverse in age, race and body shape. The takeaways are positive: setbacks can be fixed, making amends repairs relationships, and things are not always what they seem. Shaun is curious and inventive, but his experiments cause the trouble, which gives parents an easy opening to talk about taking responsibility. Common Sense recommends the film for ages 5 and up, although the few parent reviews posted so far suggest 8 and up. This guide is based on the MPA rating and published parent guides, not a FamScoop screening.