Shaun the Sheep
Created by Nick Park
Based on Wallace & Gromit by Nick Park
Developed by Richard Goleszowski & Alison Snowden & David Fine
Directed by Richard Goleszowski & Christopher Sadler
Voices of Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Kate Harbour, Richard Webber, Emma Tate,
Andy Nyman, Simon Greenall, Jo Allen, none of whom actually say anything.
Under lockdown, and watching a lot more TV than I had been. It’s starting to get a bit strange, seeing people talking to each other just two feet apart, without masks and gloves, and even touching one another. Covidporn, I guess you would call it.
Nearly everything on television harkens back to an era, six weeks gone, and possibly never to return. At a time when we’re wondering what the status of our food supply might be in six months, I’m watching a claymation show on Netflix, and it hit me: we were so well off in February that someone actually got paid good money to put subtitles on Shaun the Sheep.
If you aren’t familiar with the show, it has no dialogue. Situated on a farm in the middle counties of England, the sound track for the opening is the only dialogue. Otherwise it’s farm sounds—bleats, growls, oinks and chirps. The farmer, a genial if dim-witted ginger with delusions of adequacy, is oblivious to the fact that his dog, and a small, unremarkable sheep usually lost in the flock are both geniuses and much smarter than he is. The farmer expresses himself in a wordless mumble that manages to sound quite British.
Between the lack of nouns and verbs and all the other stuff they teach you about in Famous Writers’ School, and the lack of any profound storyline in the 7½ minute features, you might not assume there is much in there to challenge subtitle creators, and you would be right. Barnyard sounds, and a little bit of onomatopoeia, and that’s the extent of it. (I’m reminded that one of the most impressive feats of transcription I ever saw was also in an animated feature, an episode in which Samurai Jack meets the Scotsman. They don’t get on well, and the Scotsman unleashes a five minute torrent of personal abuse on Jack, all delivered by John DiMaggio in a nearly indecipherable highland brogue. The subtitles are amazingly accurate, and demonstrate that as horrible as the polemic sounds, it is, in fact, suitable for family viewing.)
OK. Subtitles. Some city kids, Londoners mostly, may not know that sheep go “maaa” and dogs go “grrr.”. The show does convey an amazing amount of information and mood through tone, but subtitles aren’t much help there. I would love to see what the subs are like in different languages and cultures. Cats may purr here, but they go ronron in parts of France. Would a Dutch dog barque?
Shaun the Sheep is a spinoff from another enormously popular animated series on the BBC, Wallace and Gromit. The human and canine in each series have a very similar relationship, with the dog clearly the brains of the outfit. Shaun has become an even bigger phenomenon, with five full seasons on the BBC, one on Netflix, plus four feature-length movies and a flock of specials.
Aardman Studio almost single-handedly revived the stop-frame form of animation that depends on minute changes in poses and attitudes of figures made from clay. They quickly gained attention, not only for the deft use of the medium to convey action and plot, but from the stunningly accurate set designs. Minus the characters, you would find it quite easy to believe that it was filmed on a small, somewhat run-down family farm in Yorkshire or someplace like that.
The relationship amongst the characters is surprisingly sophisticated, notwithstanding the cheerfully oblivious farmer. Bitsy, the dog, is the farmer’s shepherd, and as such, he takes his whistle and behaves like a cross between a sergeant-major and middle management. But he isn’t just the boss of the sheep; he’s often aide, confidant, and enabler for the sheep, not only to keep the farmer happily unaware of the true nature of his charges, but against some pigs who behave…well…like pigs, and a red-eyed bull who is a chaotic force. Plus kidnappers, aliens, tourists and weather events. Bitsy is both friend and foil to the flock.
Shaun, the smallest of the adult sheep (and there’s only one lamb) is the brains of the outfit, and often in collaboration with Bitsy, can take any of the junk to be found on an old farm and MacGyver it into some fairly impressive devices.
What makes the show an enjoyable little treaure is the warm humor that suffuses it. Good natured without being blasé, intelligent without being condescending, it’s a gem that you and the kids can enjoy.
You aren’t getting out soon. And this is a nice little treat for before bedtime. Enjoy.
Season 6 on Netflix, everything else on YouTube.