A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

(G) ★★★

Director: Will Becher & Richard Phelan.

Cast: (voices of) Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Amalia Vitale, Kate Harbour, David Holt, Richard Webber.

Never sneak up on a sheep in a wheatfield.

The first Shaun The Sheep film is an under-rated gem. It took the snappy humour of the TV series but added a level of heart only hinted at in the show. It also pushed its stop-motion animation to new heights, making for an enchanting all-ages treat.

This second outing from Shaun and friends has the humour and takes its stop-motion to even greater heights, but it lacks the extra facets that made the first one so well-rounded. Aardman Animation have still made an enjoyable sci-fi-tinged adventure, but it's more about the commotion than the emotion this time around.

This time around, the farm animals of Mossy Bottom are visited by an alien, whose arrival creates a stir in the wider community; the government is hunting for the creature and its craft, the nearby town becomes a magnet for UFO enthusiasts, and The Farmer decides to cash-in on the craze. But all Shaun the Sheep wants to do is is help the alien get home.

Farmageddon's plot is basically E.T: The Extra Terrestrial, which is fine - the far superior Abominable also used a similar "help the creature get home" story. But Abominable invested its story with themes about family, nature, and adventure, while giving it some novel twists via its characters and setting. Both Abominable and Farmageddon are entertaining, but the former is a richer experience that has more to say and share with its multi-generational audience.

Farmageddon is content to offer up the goofy spectacle of its lengthy set-pieces, which hold up some admittedly hilarious sight gags but do tend to feel padded out in places. A plot diversion via a supermarket finishes with some good jokes but adds nothing to the story, and is just one example of how this tale feels overlong and reaching for its run time.

Having said all that, Farmageddon maintains the down-home charm of the TV show that spawned it. It reaches for the stars with its CG-enhanced animation (which is impressive) and its intergalactic story, but works best when it's back on the farm with the whole flock of Shaun and friends, doing their thing.

Grown-ups will be able to play 'spot the reference' - Alien, Doctor Who, E.T., Jaws, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and The X-Files all get a run - and some sequences are great. But Farmageddon is at most a collection of entertaining skits, with no real heart or theme to hold it all together.