Shaun, vita da pecora - Missione Natale

My first ever encounter with the sprawling Shaun the Sheep brand is this festive special and I was sincerely taken with it. Aardman's charm and wit has barely diminished over the years and this festive wooly romp was a hoot. The brilliantly brief Snowman reprise was the TV highlight of the season, if not the entire year.

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Christmas 2021, arguably the worst year for Christmas telly that I can think of, nothing has gripped or excited me, or made me laugh. It comes to something when the best TV of Christmas 2021 is Shaun The Sheep, but there it is, this really was a Christmas delight, myself and family all loved it, we chuckled the whole way through, it was funny and entertaining, and unlike most shows this year, actually had a bit of meaning.

Beautifully made, as always it looked incredible, but best of all, it was so funny, at the age of 41, watching with grown up kids, I was still able to love and enjoy this sheep show.

A triumph 9/10.

The couple with the kid looked a bit like H&M, was this a coincidence I wonder? I love Shaun and all of his pals and have done for many years. The level of detail is astonishing and it takes about a day to film just a few seconds of screen time. It's so cleverly done that it takes a few watchings to notice all of the clever stuff going on. Suitable for all ages from 5 to 105.

I have always been a big Wallace & Gromit fan. I much preferred them to Shaun the Sheep who made his debut in a Wallace & Gromit adventure.

This extended Christmas special is utterly charming with a lot of love, care and detail.

It is Christmas and little Timmy has ended up going to the Christmas market with the Farmer.

It is Shaun to the rescue but Timmy inadvertently becomes a present for a little girl.

This is one that even adults will like. It reminded me a lot of Toy Story.

I loved the reference to The Snowman.

It is well nigh impossible to top the quality of feature-length titles like Curse of The Were-Rabbit or Pirates, just to mention a few, but The Flight Before Christmas, at 30 minutes only, comes very, very close.

Everything about this gem hits the mark: the story is touching, the pacing perfect (fast without feeling forced), the humor and characters without a single false note, the animation is amazing, and then.. the visual part, the look and feel of the christmassy, wintry world, interiors as well as exteriors, had me totally mesmerized. This looks so lovely and colorful, that I'd give anything to step into its magic landscape.

A classic? Yes, if there is any justice in the world, this IS a new christmas classic (also check out Robin Robin, another splendid Aardman gem on Netflix) and those who are untouched by this jewel in Aardman's crown are either dead or deaf n' blind.

By the way, there is a short Shaun title, from season 2, called We Wish Ewe(!) A Merry Christmas, that is just like this new only, a small miracle. Only shorter.