For those familiar with Wallace and his ever-loving dog Gromit, it's an easy transition to Shaun the Sheep. In fact, Shaun pretty much is Gromit in sheep's clothing--he's the smart one, the one who is always figuring everything out and the straight man around whom a circus of crazy supporting characters cavorts. The dog in this series, Bitzer, is actually more like Wallace, down to the buckteeth and consistently confused demeanor. There is an actual human on tap, The Farmer, who is constantly urging Bitzer to commandeer the sheep toward various activities, but the bulk of the series is simply interaction between Shaun, the rest of his wooly compadres, Bitzer and various other farm animals. Did I mention there's nary a word of dialogue?

Unlike the at times hyperverbal Wallace, Shaun the Sheep exists in a world devoid of anything other than Mr. Bean like grunts and sighs. That places the brunt of the comedy firmly in the visual realm, and Park and his compadres rarely fail to deliver. Sight gags are built upon effortlessly, from a Cat in the Hat type moment when the animals have run amok in the Farmer's home and Shaun must quickly clean up as he returns unexpectedly, or the sheep's hilarious attempts to get their bathwater at an agreeable temperature, much to the Farmer's dismay (he's trying to take one of his own).

There's a charm and simplicity to these eight shorts that harkens back to the days of the silents, suitably enough. These are little gems wrapped in the unusual cloth of stop-motion, and the characters are lovable and, well, human to a fault. Shaun, often as exasperated as Gromit is, is full of hysterical facial features, all revealing the overactive intellect that fills his wooly head. If Bitzer is largely clueless, he, too, gets his due in such episodes as the one where, in fetching a Frisbee, he meets a delightful female dog whom he attempts to woo. It's nothing complex or convoluted, but it's so charmingly handled that kids of all ages are sure to enjoy it. Times may be dark enough without the extra efforts of filmmakers like Burton and Selick. Shaun the Sheep is simply good, silly fun, full of a childlike joy and wonder that will delight any discerning viewer.

The DVD

Video:
Shaun arrives in its original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1, with a nicely detailed and sharp image with excellent color and contrast. Park's environments are a wonder to behold and this DVD shows them off to sparkling effect. Update: My DVDTalk colleague Randy Miller III informs me that Shaun was actually broadcast in the UK in 1.78:1, and that the Region 2 DVDs preserve that OAR. Randy recommends the 40 episode complete series 1 set available from Amazon.com.uk for those with Region Free players. Thanks, Randy!

Sound:
The DD 2.0 soundmix is fine for what it is. Since these episodes contain no dialogue, you may get a little tired of the same music cues being used over and over, as charming as they are. As in silent film, these can actually be played with the volume on mute to excellent effect. The soundtrack does offer perfectly fine fidelity. As you might expect, there are no subtitles.

Extras:
The only extra is a quick "sing along" version of Shaun's catchy theme song, which actually was a bit of a hit in Europe.

Final Thoughts:
Nick Park and Aardman have carved out one of the more distinctive niches in recent animation history, and Shaun the Sheep shows them working at full throttle. Silly, goofy and just outright hilarious, Shaun is sure to delight your younger kids, and maybe even your older ones, though they, like all good angst-ridden teens, will probably be loathe to admit it. Highly recommended.

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"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet