Directing: B+
Acting: B-
Writing: B+
Cinematography: B+
Editing: A-
Animation: A-

It’s been long enough since the first Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015), I kind of forgot I had seen it. Turns out, I quite enjoyed it then, and this sequel, Farmageddon, is just as enjoyable. I can’t necessarily say any adults need to rush onto Netflix (where it is currently streaming) to watch it on their own, but, if you have younger children, they will enjoy it, and you will enjoy watching it with them.

Not that any of the children in the target demographic will pay any attention to such a nitpicky detail, but it seems odd that its official title is so unduly long: A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon. And yet, when watching the movie, when the title appears in the opening credits, all it says is Farmageddon. The word gets seen a lot in the movie, too, because of The Farmer coming up with the get-rich scheme of turning his farm into a “Farmageddon Theme Park,” constructing it with the help of Bitzer the dog, and a flock of sheep in hard hats.

Farmageddon takes a decidedly science fiction turn, with the arrival of an adorable child-alien, which looks rather like a purple Dr. Seuss tree come to life, with a rotund head at its peak and bunny-like floppy ears. It also has four arms. There is a specific visual aesthetic to the design of Shaun the Sheep, and the rendering of this little alien fits right into it—truly unlike any other alien you’ve ever seen, but fitting perfectly into this universe.

Shaun, for his part, takes it upon himself to help the alien get back to its little space ship and find its way back home. As with all other Shaun the Sheep titles (a TV show, one previous feature film), there is no discernible dialogue at all. You could have closed captioning turned on (as I tend to), and there is no text to read: absolutely everything about the storytelling is done visually. This actually makes a film like this more impressive, given its 86-minute run time and the pacing really never lags. This film is jam packed with visual humor and sight gags. Some of it is slyly included for the parents watching, as with the tones emitted when some buttons are pushed, which mimic the famous tones from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

The lack of dialogue does mean there’s not much to say about the vocal performances, even though it does have them: around ten voice actors are credited for the major characters. They just make jumbled and mumbled vocal sounds. In some cases, the alien perfectly copies both the voices of other characters and, in some cases, the sounds of machines or a horn or whatever. And whatever this movie lacks in voice talent, it more than makes up for everywhere else—particularly in its wonderful animation and its editing, which is outstanding considering the stop-motion animation being put together.

The plot also features a villainous woman intent on capturing the alien, though of course the resolution of her story arc at the end turns out to be something sweet. Such is the sensibility of this entire film, which is so cute and so sweet you’ll have cavities by the time it’s over. I say that as a compliment.

Farmageddon is one of five films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and I remain convinced that Pixar’s Soul deserves the award. I’ll say this much: Farmageddon is better than Pixar’s other offering, also nominated in the same category, Onward, which was . . . fine. The previous Shaun the Sheep movie was also nominated, at the 2016 Academy Awards, when it lost to . . . Pixar’s Inside Out—the best movie of that year. Aardman Animations has other Oscars, though, so they’re doing fine. This will just have to be one of those years when it’s an honor to be nominated.

*Look on in wonder—or at least giggle—at this delightful kids’ movie.*

Overall: B+