8 /10 1 Votes
4/5 The Telegraph Genre ComedyAdventure Country of origin Britain First episode date 13 November 2015 Film series Shaun the Sheep | 7/10 IMDb 4.5/5 Amazon Director Jay Grace | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Written by Nick Vincent MurphyLee PressmanRichard Starzak Starring Justin FletcherJohn SparkesSean ConnollyChris Grimes Initial release 26 December 2015 (United Kingdom) Cast Similar Shaun the Sheep Movie, Pib and Pog, The Emperor's New Gro, Chicken Run, Hoops & Yoyo Ruin Christmas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shaun the Sheep: The Farmer's Llamas is a British stop motion animated television special based on the television program Shaun the Sheep by Nick Park. Produced by Paul Kewley and John Woolley and directed by Jay Grace, the program made its debut on Amazon Video in the USA on 13 November 2015 and on BBC One in the UK on Boxing Day 2015. The special follows Shaun the Sheep (Justin Fletcher) as he gets the Farmer (John Sparkes) to bring home three llamas from the County Fair.
Contents
Plot
When the Farmer and Bitzer bring a cake to a contest at a festival, Shaun tries to steal it but ends up hiding in the Farmer's shirt. At the festival, he encounters three llamas who are hypnotized by a flutist. The flute player stumbles and awakens the llamas, who create chaos in the cake contest. Once the llamas are again hypnotized, they are taken to an auction and sold. The Farmer and Bitzer accidentally buy them.
Back the Mossy Bottom Farm, the Farmer leads the llamas to the sheep meadow. Shaun befriends the llamas and the flock play a football game against the llamas. Timmy finds the flute that came with the llamas and tests it, discovering that he can hypnotize the llamas. However, Timmy loses the flute and the llamas destroy it. The llamas go on a vandalizing spree, culminating in taking a quad bike and destroying the sheep house just as Bitzer finishes repairing it. The flock becomes angry with Shaun for bringing the llamas. Meanwhile, The Farmer and Bitzer discover that the llamas have taken over the Farmer's house. After a confrontation, the llamas lock the Farmer in a wardrobe.
Bitzer and Shaun devise a plan to get rid of the llamas, tricking the creatures into the caravan. The llamas escape to take revenge on Shaun. He climbs on the roof of the Farmer's house and the llamas follow and are about to kill him. With almost everything lost, Timmy and the flock, with Bitzer's help, musically play empty bottles of soda to hypnotize the llamas, who fall back into the caravan.
Bitzer frees the Farmer from the wardrobe, and the next day the llamas are taken back to the auction, where the Farmer inadvertently buys a Rhino. During the credits,a bald man who bought the llamas leads them to his house, where he has a daughter who treats them very badly. Back at the farm, Timmy befriends the Rhino.
Cast
Additional voices
Production
The special was first announced on 13 October 2014 and was set to air on BBC One at Boxing Day 2015. It first went into production after production was completed on Shaun the Sheep Movie.
Release
The special was released on Amazon Video in the USA on 13 November 2015. It aired in the UK on Boxing Day 2015 at 6.10pm. It was released on DVD in the UK on 8 February 2016.
Reception
Melissa Camacho from Common Sense Media gave it four out of five and said "Shaun fans of all ages should find this adventure a delightful addition to the Aardman canon." Ed Power from The Daily Telegraph gave it four out of five and said "Kids, of course, will have loved every silly, sloppy minute. For a show going out at tea-time on Boxing Day, surely that was mission accomplished." Ed Liu from Toon Zone said "The show certainly held my interest and extracted more than its share of laughs, but The Farmer’s Llamas doesn’t really have much more plot than an average episode of Shaun the Sheep."
In 2016, it was nominated for an International Emmy Award for Kids: Animation.