Halloween Will Be Saved by Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom

Perhaps that headline is a slight exaggeration. For one thing, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom arrives in theaters in September. But Shaun—and his many ovine friends—are going to save Halloween from a strange, mop-headed beast. Possibly the beast is no beast at all. Possibly they could all just be friends! But they’ve got some horror references (Dracula, Night of the Living Dead, Psycho, … The Simpsons?) and hijinx to get through first.

The Beast of Mossy Bottom is the third film to feature Shaun and the flock, following 2015’s Shaun the Sheep Movie and 2019’s A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon. These excellent films come from the good folks at Aardman Animation, who are also the creators of Wallace and Gromit. You kind of can’t go wrong with Aardman.

Here’s the synopsis that was on offer when the movie was announced last year. Though I think you don’t really need a synopsis, you know? There are some adorable sheep. They are scared of a big tall beast. It is a Halloween movie. Maybe the beast just had a costume malfunction?

Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom sees the residents of Mossy Bottom Farm looking forward to Halloween – until the clumsy Farmer trashes the Flock’s beloved pumpkin patch! When Shaun turns MAD SCIENTIST to fix the problem, things rapidly spiral out of control… With The Farmer missing and a wild beast roaming the woods of Mossingham, all the ingredients are in place for a monstrously fun family adventure.

Steve Cox and Matthew Walker, both longtime Aardman collaborators, make their directorial debut with this film, which is written by Shaun the Sheep regulars Mark Burton (A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon) and Giles Pilbrow (the TV series Shaun the Sheep: Adventures from Mossy Bottom). I have now typed the word “sheep” so many times that it has nearly lost all meaning, but I’m still looking forward to this film, which is in theaters September 18th. Baaa! icon-paragraph-end