Aardman studios has put out a lot of superb stop-frame animation over the years, but this might be their best ever. Shaun the Sheep is a simple story – perhaps the simplest of stories. It’s lighthearted and fun throughout, and will only bring you smiles. But, it’s done just brilliantly. Essentially this is a silent film – not one word of dialog is spoken. There are a few mumbles, but that’s it. It takes quite a bit of storytelling to pull that off. I had the feeling that I was watching years of meticulous work crammed into the space of 90+ minutes, and it showed. Each scene could stand on its own (and in fact much of the movie was made of previously released scenes). The whole thing was just utter joy.