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Fans of the 2005<\/span> feature length\u00a0<\/span>Wallace and Gromit <\/i>outing, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit,<\/i> may experience pangs of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu when encountering this new Aardman animated feature,\u00a0<\/span>Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom<\/i>. It seems that the lads down at the beloved British animation house has deemed that two decades is enough time passed to justify retooling their old properties, rehashing the story nearly beat-for-beat while relocating the action to the sunny rural outpost of Mossy Bottom Farm.<\/span><\/p>\n This sense of familiarity, plus the feeling that the largely delightful world of Shaun the Sheep may be running out of creative road, means that this new work unfortunately doesn\u2019t hold a\u00a0candle to the superb 2015<\/span> Shaun the Sheep movie. But that\u2019s not to say it\u2019s a\u00a0complete write-off: there\u2019s enough slapstick invention to keep the knee-highs happy, a\u00a0couple of cheerful set-pieces, plus it runs at a\u00a0commendably curt 80<\/span>\u00a0minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n It sees Shaun and his flock tending to a\u00a0secret pumpkin patch in the run up to Halloween, but the accident-prone farmer is dragged across it by a\u00a0rampaging goat and ruins the entire crop. Our hero decides that he needs to think of a\u00a0way to grow pumpkins in less than two days, and so turns mad scientist to invent a\u00a0growth serum. Yet when the glowing pink ooze is accidentally contained in a\u00a0bottle of hair restoring lotion, and then liberally applied by the balding farmer, everything goes awry. The farmer is mistaken for Bigfoot, efforts are made to post him to a\u00a0secluded island in the middle of the ocean, and Shuan and the gang must do all they can to amend this mistake.<\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s lots of the trademark Aardman character work, with emotion and communication deriving entirely from facial expressions and body language. And it\u2019s also packed with gentle parochial humour, taking an equal opportunities approach to mocking both the fusty oldsters and the jaded youth. There\u2019s a\u00a0lovely scene where the \u200b\u201c<\/span>Beast\u201d goes wild along the village highstreet, and the denizens arm themselves with items from a\u00a0fancy dress shop. And there are scads of references to classic genre movies, ranging from the original Universal <\/span>Frankenstein<\/span><\/i>, to more modern fantasy fare such as <\/span>Back to the Future. <\/span><\/i>It\u2019s a\u00a0charming outing, albeit one that never quite justifies its existence beyond being an easy go-to for parents during the school holidays.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nGet more Little White\u00a0Lies<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n