Teaser Trailer for Aardman’s ‘Shaun the Sheep Movie’

Starting out as a side character in the Wallace and Gromit short A Close Shave (1995), Shaun the Sheep became an unlikely franchise star. After getting his own line of merchandise and a spin-off television series (which was popular enough to spawn its own spin-off, Timmy Time) Shaun is set to become the subject of Aardman’s next feature in spring 2015. The film currently doesn’t appear to have a U.S. distributor.

The stop motion theatrical feature will be directed by Mark Burton and Richard Starzak, based on their screenplay. Curiously, Starzak appears to be the pseudonym of Richard Goleszowski, who created both Rex the Runt and the Shaun the Sheep series. When the Shaun the Sheep feature was first announced in 2011, Goleszowski said his goal was “to make a modern day silent movie starring Shaun,” in the spirit of a Buster Keaton film. The new teaser released today follows the Pixar tradition of being a self-contained short rather than showing footage from the film:

“When Shaun decides to take the day off and have some fun, he gets a little more action than he baa-rgained for! Shaun’s mischief accidentally causes the Farmer to be taken away from the farm, so it’s up to Shaun and the flock to travel to the Big City to rescue him. Will Shaun find the Farmer in the strange and unfamiliar world of the City before he’s lost forever?”