On January 23, 2020, a new full-length animated comedy about the adventures of the legendary lamb, which turns 25 in 2020, will be released. Find out interesting facts about the cartoon "Sean the Sheep: Farmageddon" (2020), more about the plot and characters.
Characters by Nick Park , 4 Academy Awards, 6 BAFTA Awards.
What the cartoon is about
An intergalactic adventure for the world's most famous lamb! After the crash of a flying saucer, a cute and mischievous alien guest named Lu-La comes to Earth. Here she finds a new friend - Shaun the Sheep. Only he can help her escape from the alien hunters and return home. Together they will have to go where no lamb's hoof has gone before.
Strange lights over the quiet town of Mossingham marked the arrival of a mysterious visitor from a galaxy far, far away ...
In 2015, the animated hit "Shaun the Sheep" was released. The second feature film, Sean the Sheep: Farmageddon, takes the woolen hero on an amazing and hilariously hilarious intergalactic adventure. He will have to use all his charm and courage to cope with all the troubles.
It all starts with the fact that a charming alien Lu-La makes an emergency landing near the Mossi Bottom farm. Sean has a great opportunity to go on an exciting adventure and help Lou-Le return home.
Her magical alien skills and touching pranks have conquered the entire flock of sheep, so Sean decides to accompany a new extraterrestrial friend to the Mossingham Forest to find her crashed ship.
The friends have no idea that a government agency for the fight against alien intelligence, led by the unstoppable agent Red and a detachment of unlucky henchmen in biosecurity suits, is on their trail. Agent Red is obsessed with the desire to prove the existence of an extraterrestrial civilization, the dog Bitzer becomes an unwitting participant in an impressive chase, and Sean and his woolen friends need to save the Mossy Bottom farm from farmageddon before it's too late ...
Star power
The creative team of the new film about the woolen phenomenon tells how Shawn the Sheep goes where no sheep's hoof has gone before ... Thanks to the popular TV series and the film of the same name, Shaun the Sheep can already be called a world star, loved by millions of viewers of all ages. However, for the second film about Sean, the filmmakers wanted to come up with something new, unusual. The picture turned out to be more large-scale and high-quality, now the adventures of the lamb will more resemble epic fantasy.
“This is the feeling of a fantastic epic that we were striving for,” says director Will Becher. - We wanted the film to be large-scale, spectacular, with a kind of fantastic atmosphere. It was necessary to show Sean's universe as no one had ever seen it before. We were very inspired by the classics of the fantasy genre and the style of Steven Spielberg. "
In Sean the Sheep: Farmageddon, Sean's serene life on the farm, only occasionally disturbed by minor incidents, turns into chaos. It's all to blame for the arrival of an alien - a charming purple-blue fidget Lu-La. She plunges Sean's beloved family into unthinkable chaos. Sean is always portrayed as a rebel, opposing the authoritarian rule of the long-suffering dog Bitzer, but seeking to hide his revolutionary activities from the farmer ("who is a kind of paternalistic figure in the film," adds Becher).
The key figures remain the same, but Sean the Sheep: Farmageddon takes Sean to new frontiers - adventurous and emotional. “Sean will have to forget about his sensual image for a while,” smiles director Richard Phelan. “He needs to grow up and start taking care of Lou-Le. This has never happened to him before. "
“Sean feels a responsibility to get Lou-Lou home safe and sound,” explains Phelan.
“When I was hired by Aardman, I asked, 'Why don't we make a fantastic movie?' Says producer Paul Kewley. Richard Starzak, who directed the series about Sean, redefined the episodic character of the 1995 film Wallace and Gromit 4: Shave Your Head, created by Nick Park, and made the lamb worthy of a new feature. “Richard started talking about filming a sequel, clarifying that it had to be something about aliens,” Kewley recalls. - I almost immediately supported this idea. We were amused by the very idea that a stranger could meet Sean, finding himself in the world of a lamb. "
The plot was worked out in the process of intense brainstorming and numerous questions to which each of the participants in the discussion tried to answer in their own way. Soon, Mark Burton, one of the screenwriters and directors of the first film "Shaun the Sheep", editor Sim Evan-Jones and producer Paul Kewley, joined the process. “There was not a hint of ultimate truth in these discussions,” says Phelan, “and it couldn't have been. Each of us could be wrong, because we were looking for the most incredible and funniest solutions, the most exciting ideas. We clung to a large round table, thinking, "What could Sean do?"
“I was trying to see things through the eyes of a character,” says Evan-Jones, who edited the first Sean movie, as well as the first two films in the Shrek franchise. - Sean always loves to play pranks, but he manages to avoid trouble. If you see Sean walking past the pastry shop, stopping and looking out the window, you can be sure something is about to happen. And the appearance of Lu-La only adds fuel to the fire. She, as it turns out, loves to be mischievous even more than Sean. "
Given that Sean has to hide Lou-Lou from the outside world, especially from Agent Red and her squad, the scale and spectacularity of the sheep's new adventures go beyond the already high demands that Aardman sets for his hero. “The stakes are incredibly high,” confirms Evan-Jones. "At first you only see government agents in their sinister black van, and later it turns out that they have an entire underground base near Mossingham."
“The set was quite impressive,” says cinematographer Charles Copping of the result of production designer Matt Perry. "Agent Red's underground bunker looked a lot like the James Bond hideout!"
For Copping, Sean the Sheep: Farmageddon was a chance not only to work on the most expensive and impressive Sean film, but also to follow the full development of the character. “I got attached to Sean,” the cameraman recalls with a smile, “since my first job at Aardman nearly 25 years ago was Wallace & Gromit 4: Shave Your Head. It was a debut for Sean and a debut for me, so we developed in parallel. Sean moved from television to the big screen, and I followed him. We grew up together. "
Based on the beloved genre of the film crew, Sean the Sheep: Farmageddon not only does justice to the classics, is not only hilariously funny, but also revises many of the established principles of Sean's universe. “We've carefully researched the fantasy genre,” says Phelan. "What lenses do the operators use, how they frame the frame, what the composition of Kubrick is and what the choreography of the characters in Spielberg's films - all the subtleties and nuances were extremely important for the animation."
The new plot helped significantly expand the familiar world of Sean. The farmhouse's casual pastoral contrasted favorably with the colorful, fantasy alien world and high-tech military base. “Sean's world on the TV series seems to be closed and very small,” says Phelan. - Now we decided to look at this world in more detail and show the audience that a secret government organization is hiding under the surface of the earth, and there is another planet at a distance of 10,000 light years from the farm. Sean's world is turning from tiny to huge. "
The atmosphere of a classic science fiction film and the widest possible audience became the key tasks of the creative team of the film "Sean the Sheep: Farmageddon". Based on the reaction of viewers during previews, these tasks can be considered completed. “Our film should remind viewers that in essence we are all the same, - continues the thought of director Kewley. "This story is about an alien who comes to our planet and seeks recognition."
However, be that as it may, the main role in the film was played by a small lamb with a great desire for adventure. “Created by Nick Park, Sean is the perfect character,” says Kewley. "When Richard Starzak decided to make a TV show about Sean, he found a way to tell more stories about this character."
Sean has always been a rebel, but a kind-hearted rebel. “The bottom line is that Sean doesn't look like a goody, and that's great,” continues Kewley. - Sean is one of those who are always ready to press the red button, but at the same time he always admits his mistakes and mistakes. That is why we recognize ourselves in him. "
For 25 years, the hero not only survived, but also got stronger, having received many awards. “Sean has always been our benchmark,” says co-executive producer Carla Shelley. - Over the years, we have repeatedly talked with our American partners, and they often said that they want to hear Sean's voice, to understand what he is talking about. What blasphemy! It wouldn't be Sean! Any word from Sean would ruin everything. Sean doesn't speak - that's his essence, and that's why people have loved him for so many years. "
DNA LU-LY
The key figure in the renewed universe of Shaun the Sheep will be his alien girlfriend, who will win the hearts of the audience ...
About character
“Already during the first discussion of the upcoming film, we agreed that we need to add a new intriguing element that demonstrates the development of Sean. We needed a new character for the lamb to take care of. This is Lu-La. A young alien has made a forced landing on Earth, and now she needs Sean's help to get back home. This doll is unlike any other in the Aardman universe. She has a great stretch. She moves faster than all other characters. And she has bulging eyes. "
Director Richard Phelan
About her name
Sean's new alien girlfriend is named in honor of the 50th anniversary of the man's landing on the moon, which all progressive humanity celebrated in July 2019.
About her charm
“After a long and painstaking development, the character is kind, charming and truly disarming. For a long time Lu-La looked like a dog, but then we decided that this way she looked more like a pet, and not like a lost alien. We wanted our heroine to have an obvious alien origin. She was supposed to be unusual and charming, but not too vulnerable. "
Co-Executive Producer Carla Shelley
About her appearance
“We had a common concept, but not a ready-made image of Lu-La. We understood what she had to be capable of. She had to have the strength and ability for certain actions. The artists set to work and made several hundred sketches, one crazier than the other. Then one of the designers drew a UFO with a sheaf of fire bursting out from below. This image gave us a silhouette, it was perfect. We had to think about how the heroine would feel in Sean's world. She had to look harmoniously with other characters, but at the same time there should be no doubt that she was from another universe. "
Director Richard Phelan
About her voice
“We discussed many options for Lu-La. At some point, the conversation turned to her abilities. We decided to focus on her vulnerability and innocence, thereby emphasizing that aliens can be not only scary, but also as sensitive as humans. The role of Lu-La was voiced by Amalia Vitale - her voice perfectly suited the doll. When we superimposed the voice of the actress on the image of the heroine, the thought appeared: "Aha, now we see her!" We needed a harmonious combination of innocence and insolence. "
Writer Mark Burton
About her abilities
“Lu-La is a charming creature from the beautiful world, and her appearance is also beautiful in her own way. We decided that she must have unusual skills and abilities. But, taken out of the plot context, they lose their charm ... "
Editor Sim Evan-Jones
About her sounds
“The first thing I wrote [for this film] was the sounds of Lu-La, because she takes the general madness to a new level. You know, where Sean throws the ball and breaks the glass, she lifts the tractor. She is a real chaos. To sound her movements, I used a plugin that created an effect reminiscent of a working crystallizer and created an unusual atmosphere. Lu-La had other sounds, but the main instrument of the melody was the celesta (keyboard metallophone - Ed.). By adding echo, I got a very strange sound. It was enough to hear him - I immediately realized that this was what I needed. I sent the sound to Aardman and it got approved. This sound was applied during preliminary sketches, and as a result it ended up in the final version of the film. "
Composer Tom Howe
About reaction to a new character
“We did test shows - the reaction to Lou-Lou was amazing. We were scared to be in the hall, because we understood that in 30 seconds Lu-La would appear on the screen, and they would either love her or hate her. And then this moment came, all the touching whispering ceased, and the whole audience gasped. And we are like, "Thank God."
Director Will Becher
About her future
"We have enough ideas for Lou-La's return in Sean's next adventures ..."
Produced by Paul Kewley
Code red
Six steps to building a classic sci-fi villain from the point of view of those who know a lot. Meet the insidious agent Red ...
Shadows of evil
“There are enough legendary villains in the fantasy genre, and we wanted ours to take its rightful place. We racked our brains for a long time, trying to decide what our villain would be. There were many different proposals. We agreed on one thing - we didn't want the character to be unambiguous, that he was a villain just for the sake of villainy. This is how Agent Red appeared. "
Director Will Becher
Double punch
“Originally there were two agents in the script, almost like Men in Black. The idea was that one of the agents was good and accepted alien life, and the other was bad and was terrified of aliens. However, two agents unnecessarily complicated the plot, so one of them had to be sacrificed. We needed to carefully work out the backstory of the character in order to answer all the "why". That is, it is obvious that the villains are doing evil, but perhaps they are doing it for some reason unknown to us. It is important. We were looking for an excuse for our agent. We tried to understand what drives her. "
Writer Mark Burton
Chance for rehabilitation
“We fought to the last for Agent Red. We understood: in order to somehow justify her actions, she must be misunderstood. It is not easy to find the right plot twists and backstories so that viewers of the agent understand, especially if there is no dialogue as such. She is not cruel, she is not possessed. Nobody just understands it. "
Director Richard Phelan
Under the mask
“It’s much easier to be an ordinary bad guy when there are no dialogues. In this regard, we took the path of the greatest resistance. But we didn't want Agent Red to seem simple. We wanted her to do her best to ensure that the efforts of the protagonists pay off handsomely. And the fact that we made her human only enhanced the effect of the denouement. "
Director Will Becher
Biosecurity suits
“Agent Red has turned out to be a truly wonderful villain, even if all her assistants are useless! A whole group of specialists in biological protection works for her. They are a kind of comedy troupe, which practically acts as a single organism. They are constantly fussing, sticking in a group and clearly not burdened with intelligence. Only one was out of the general format - a character discovering an alien. The assistants constantly disappoint Agent Red, but she doesn't sound like an overly strict boss, she's just above it. "
Editor Sim Evan-Jones
Sean's haircut
Sim Evan-Jones, who edited both films about Sean the Sheep, talks about the character, his energy and how excesses are harmful ... Ask anyone who worked on the film "Sean the Sheep: Farmageddon" (believe me, we asked), and you Shawn the Sheep will be said to owe much of their success to editor Sim Evan-Jones.
Editing is a key phase in the production of a film, during which all the jokes are revealed.
However, producer Paul Kewley claims that Aardman's editing is "extremely meticulous." Aardman co-founder David Sproxton explains the challenges an editor faces when working with stop motion animation:
“We kept going back to Wallace & Gromit 2: The Wrong Pants (filmed in 1993, before Evan-Jones joined the company) and looked at it as the benchmark for editing. Even if you watch the movie today, you won't find a single frame worth cutting out. There is not a second of wasted screen time. People forget that with a rough cut, we get almost 45 minutes, and the film has to be 30 minutes. Therefore, we have to sacrifice almost a third of the film during editing! We can reluctantly throw out one or two frames, but not the whole scene. As a rule, we thin out scenes, but at the same time strive to maintain the overall rhythm. And we often have to return to the already edited material. "
An epic adventure like Sean the Sheep: Farmageddon has a place for space travel, an alien, a sinister government organization, and the hunt for the perfect pizza. Evan-Jones admits that he faced the most difficult task of his career, which he, however, coped with excellently.
Evan-Jones honed his skills in the United States at DreamWorks - his efforts were the first two films of the SHREK franchise. After that, he edited the incredible landscapes of Narnia, and then returned to England to work in the best animation studio in the world - the Bristol company Aardman. Evan-Jones admits that he learned to edit so that his films were the best. And I must say that he did it.
– You mountedandfeature films,suchas "The Chronicles of Narnia "and" My Terrible Nanny ", and animatedribbons. In what forinacedistinctivefeatures studio paintingsAardman?
- The fact that there are no dialogues in the film speaks eloquently about Sean's energy. An interesting fact - we tried to come up with some kind of motto for the character. We decided that it should be "crystal", "comedy", but we could not think of a third word for "k" ... We decided to let it be "kinetic energy"! After all, the feeling that we need some kind of movement never leaves us. And for movement you need energy, one might say "the energy of the story."
– how exactly this is happens?
- The answer is very simple - do not stop there. All the films we shoot begin with a kind of "day in someone's life" - a collage that serves as an introduction to the story. It helps set the mood for Sean's adventures, reminding viewers of his world. Given the truly ingenious approach of Aardman, it turns out to be done in a comedic manner. Every plot twist turns into a joke.
Another secret of the company that has become its corporate identity is the purposeful muffling of comic effect or muffling of emotions, with which you need to be extremely careful. Aardman films never get too dramatic, too teary or tense. It may be in the nature of the British, but Aardman has been successfully pursuing this idea for many years.
– ANDHas Sean changed over the years?
- Did he change? I do not think so. Sean is a self-contained complete image and always has been. In this film, of course, we will show him from a new, unusual side. He will have a sense of responsibility, and we can all see with our own eyes how he copes with it. In addition, in this bombastic "Yes, we are making a fantastic film about Sean the Sheep" the key question for us remained: "How much is this story about Sean?"
- As ifinHave you described this story?
- This story is about the need to take responsibility for your actions. Our hero will have to meet exactly the same mischievous person as himself. We have a new character Lu-La - a charming creature from a beautiful world, which, by the way, was perfectly drawn. We decided that she must have some kind of superpowers. But, taken out of the context of the plot, they will lose their uniqueness. The main thing is that all her abilities and skills help her character. The viewer must understand it well. She is playful and resourceful, and the audience should have no doubt about it.
Yourcareer growth inAardman impressive.Among other things,ins mountedfilm "Diva ancestors", and now you are working on the picture "Escape from the chicken coop 2". Why you So like these films?
- For many reasons, to be honest. I have quite a lot of experience in animation, and Aardman studio is recognized all over the world and has always been one of the most significant for me. I always wanted to work in this studio, and one day fate smiled at me - I was invited to work on the first film about Sean. I had to work only four weeks ... and in the end I have been working for the fourth year. This company was simply created for those who are seriously into animation.
The creators of the cartoon "Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon" (2020) managed to successfully reveal the characters; viewers of all ages will appreciate the interesting facts of the animation film and the gripping storyline.
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