Change Your Image
royjaruk-1
Reviews
Shaun the Sheep (2007)
A delight for children - and adults too!
The latest effort from Aardman Studios, this series is perfect for anyone to watch. There is no dialogue; it's all in the noises and expressions, which need no words to convey the thoughts and actions of the characters.
Shaun the Sheep is a skinny little (presumably) male sheep who is the brains of his flock. The only other sheep to have a name is Timmy, the lone lamb; but other recognizable sheep are Timmy's Mum (identifiable by the three curls on her head) and Shirley, who is so fat she has trouble passing through doors.
The other recurring characters include The Farmer, who looks eerily like a claymation version of Bill Oddie from The Goodies comedy troupe; The Dog, who looks like Gromit's country cousin and is as smart and resourceful; The Bull, who is a fine fellow unless he sees red; and The Pigs, three pigs who live in a pigsty next to the sheep meadow and carry on a feud with the sheep. They all have their quirks (for example, The Dog has his own iPod and cellphone and uses them), and they quickly endear themselves to viewers. The animals are sophisticated, while The Farmer is oblivious to the goings-on right under his nose. Therein lies the fun.
The plots of these 5 minute shorts are simple and fun. Sheep playing soccer with a cabbage intended for the Pigs as a ball, with The Dog as the referee complete with the red card. The sheep deciding they want pizza for dinner, with Shaun and two others going into town after it. The Farmer updating his stereo system, dumping his old records, turntable and such into a junk pile in the meadow (which the sheep treat like the scrapheap from Junkyard Wars in a number of episodes), and the sheep turning the sheepfold into a disco. The sheep taking exception to going through a dip bath made with cold water. Simple plots, but brilliantly executed; with something for the preschool crowd AND their parents.
At present, you can only find Shaun the Sheep on download sites. The series is so new, it has not gone to DVD yet. You'll want the DVD when it comes out, of course. But in the meantime, it's worth the effort to find and download the eps (about 20, half of the first series, are available) and watch them on a homemade DVD. Trust me; you won't be wasting your time. They're the best thing to come out of the claymation community since Wallace and Gromit!
Flyboys (2006)
A passable movie ... if you know nothing about WWI combat aviation
I had high hopes for Flyboys. The true story of Norman Prince, Elliot Springs, Raoul Lufberry and the rest of the Escadrille Lafayette would make a wonderful movie. Unfortunately, Flyboys isn't it.
The first problem is with the airplanes. Not with the way they are shown flying; that's more or less accurate. At least their maneuvering is a major improvement over the Japanese Zero X-Wings in Pearl Harbor. The trouble is, the airplanes shown flying on both sides weren't in service for at least half the period the movie covers. I think the main reason the Fokker Triplane was chosen as the German mount was that it's easy to tell three wings from two, and thus you know who the Good Guys are.
The next problem is with the acting. All of the actors are two-dimensional and exhibit the emotive power of department store mannequins. This movie is all about the fighter planes, and the men flying them are almost incidental. Nowhere near enough is made of the pilots' emotions, nor yet of their French commanding officer, who must send his boys out to die day after day after bloody day. The obligatory rituals are observed, but the reasons for them are never made clear.
Bottom line: Great CGI does not make up for a bad screenplay. If you want to see a GOOD movie on World War I flying, get a copy of William Wellman's classic, Wings. He flew fighters in that war and was able to direct from his own experience. Leave Flyboys on the shelf where it belongs.