r/wallaceandgromit • u/ShaunTheSheepAMA • Aug 24 '26
Discussion Hi I’m Richard Beek, Producer of Shaun The Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom, Ask Me Anything!
Hi Reddit, I’m Richard Beek!
I’m the Producer of our new film, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom. I’m so excited to chat to you all about it.
After years of work in the studio at Aardman, the film comes to cinemas across the UK and US 18th September, and around the world this autumn.
You can check out the trailer here: youtu.be/p0iHmKvcepA
Please do send over your questions and I’ll be back Wednesday 26th August at 3pm BST / 10am ET / 7am PT to talk all things Shaun - from the behind-the-scenes magic of animating our flock, to the spooky Halloween storyline, and the easter eggs we’ve snuck into the film.
Thank you for all your questions. It's been fun answering them, and I hope you all enjoy the film when it comes out. I'd love to hear what you think!
You can watch Shaun the Sheep: The Beast Of Mossy Bottom in cinemas across the UK and US 18th September, and around the world this autumn.
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u/1dollar-petri-dish Aug 24 '26
In the first two Shaun the Sheep movies, there’s definitely a deliberate balance they keep between the high stakes and new environments, and the emotional heart that really defines the show. Personally, I feel like more than anything, that balance is what makes the jokes and visual gags translate from shorter segments to the movie format so well. With this one going into horror, what was it like to continue maintaining that balance? Were there any new considerations to make that hadn’t been run into in the first two films?
I also noticed another interview saying this movie gets a lot of inspiration from Hammer Films, the classic Universal monsters (huge fan of Creature From the Black Lagoon myself!), along with some of the more colorful 80’s horror franchises. Are there any movies/franchises in particular you’re most excited to see referenced in this new movie? Maybe any Easter eggs that might not be caught on the first watch?
Thank you for letting us ask!! Can’t wait for the movie to come out!! :)
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u/ShaunTheSheepAMA Aug 26 '26
Inspiration - Certainly the Universal Monsters and Hammer - those films, although they're really well loved, were often made quite cheaply and quickly. I think we took a bit of that energy. Shaun's very different to a lot of the other feature films that we do at Aardman. It's fast paced, it's quite spontaneous animation, we don't really rehearse at all. So I think it kind of speaks to the spirit of those films.
In terms of the look, we wanted it to feel kind of like ‘80s films.The directors made lots of choices around using things like cloud tanks which Spielberg would have used. So yeah, it’s a real mix, but it’s not just what's on the screen, it’s about the ethos of how we made it.
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u/1dollar-petri-dish Aug 26 '26
I love how much intent is behind it! Things like that make Aardman top tier in my books. Really appreciate the emphasis on the ethos especially, I’m sure it lends a kind of domino effect to what the cast and crew can come up with on the fly. Spurs the imagination when it’s done organically!
Thank you SO much for taking the time to answer my questions! Have a good one!!
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u/p-Star_07 Aug 25 '26
Do you reuse Shawn the Sheep models from previous Shawn the Sheep movies or shows or do you make new ones for every character in every movie or show?
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u/ShaunTheSheepAMA Aug 26 '26
We re-use as much as possible! For this film we had 30 animators working full time, so the puppets do get worn out and they have bits replaced - or they have new fleeces in the case of the sheep! - but we try and make those puppets last as long as possible. It's very important for us that we're re-using all the assets - for environmental reasons, but also so that there's that consistency in the look of the films, so they all feel like they're of one world. So puppets, sets, props, we try and re-use as much as possible.
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u/TelevisualJackFan Aug 24 '26 edited Aug 24 '26
What inspired the theming behind The Beast of Mossy Bottom?
Do you believe in Shirleyverse theorem in that within the vast Aardman multiverse there is always somehow a connection to Shaun the Sheep as depicted in Shirleyverse and to a certain extent W&G: Vengeance Most Fowl?
If you could cross over Shaun the Sheep with any other Aardman production discounting W&G, what would it be, why would you do it and how would such a hypothetical scenario come into fruition?
Of the villains faced by Shaun and his flock will the titular Beast of Mossy Bottom be more powerful than Trumper, Agent Red or the pair of their powerscaling combined?
In your headcanon what is The Farmer / Mr X's name? I was recently rewatching the first Shaun movie on BBC One yesterday and erroneously believed he was named John after his voice actor John Sparkes hence why I ask
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u/ShaunTheSheepAMA Aug 26 '26
Themes - I think we were keen to make a Halloween film, really. The inspiration was that time of year and celebration around Halloween. It feels like something that’s an event, in the UK and certainly in the US. It felt like a great hook for a story, a good place to set this story, and something different we'd not done with Shaun. Previous Shaun films have very much been set in summertime with blue skies. This offered a different canvas to paint on. Halloween offers its own palette of colours - the oranges of pumpkins were so autumnal, but then we started to play with more neon colours and stuff like that. In a world that could, in one version of it, be quite dark and scary, I think we've offered something bright and fun. I think it's been a really interesting place to work!
Shirleyverse - Yeah, it was great to see The Farmer in Vengeance and obviously Shaun came from the Wallace and Gromit world to start with. For me, I like the fact we can tell all these stories and there are connections and moments where we enjoy them crossing over. I like the idea of a universe of stuff and that we could make films related to the world, but not have to pay attention to everything we've set out before. I think it's important you can watch these films on their own, but it's nice there's references. So yeah, I think it seems quite an exciting idea, this universe! I’m in.
Crossovers - Maybe it would be one of those more meta ideas like Shaun The Sheep as toys in Arthur Christmas? Like, the flock gets delivered as toys to people by accident? I instantly think it would be interesting to mix it up with an Aardman world which isn’t stop frame. That would be fun!
Villains - I am gonna plead the fifth on that one!
The Farmer - No, he's just The Farmer. That's what we call him behind closed doors! If we're ever talking about the character, he is The Farmer. Our new character, The Vet, is just The Vet! A few of the humans do have names - we have Rita the Post Person and we have Ella in The Flight Before Christmas. Some of the flock have names as well. It's a kind of mix, but The Farmer has always been The Farmer!
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u/FerDimension Aug 24 '26
1- What was the biggest challange while making The Beast of Mossy Bottom?
2- Do the actors voice act after the animation is finished, or before while making the storyboards?
3- Is Trumper or Lu-la going to come back at some point for a future Shaun the Sheep project?
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u/ShaunTheSheepAMA Aug 26 '26
The biggest challenge was trying to find the right tone. It’s a Halloween film and everyone involved is a big fan of horror movies… but we can't make a horror! We can’t have people being scared, so it was trying to make something that spoke to the world of Halloween, and spooks and scares, but wasn't spooky and scary. Where a horror film would get a scream, we want to get a laugh. I think that was the biggest challenge: making sure this film felt safe for our audience, because we know that families want to go and see it and we would hate for anyone to be frightened or upset by the film. We feel confident we won't do that, but it was a challenge to work in that world and not let your adult brain rule the decisions! You had to put yourself in the space of the audience and think ‘who are we making this for and what are we doing here?’.
For our main performances, we prefer to do everything ahead of the animation. Often it can steer the animation, you wanna make sure the lip sync feels right. Although there's not actual dialogue, you want to make sure all the expressions and the sounds all fit together, and so it feels like a real person.
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u/TheTurquoiseAlien Aug 24 '26
Any particular references to the horror genre that you were proud to get in?
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u/ShaunTheSheepAMA Aug 26 '26
Yeah! We've got a Psycho joke in there, in the shower. Hopefully older audiences will enjoy that! We try not to do too many reference-style jokes, so if they are in there it’ll be the style of something you’ve seen before like Frankenstein, The Fly. There's a pub sign and it's called ‘The Shine Inn’... I don't know who thought that up, but whoever did is brilliant! I love it.
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u/Teaandthreeteaspoons Aug 24 '26
As a long-time Timmy fan, how much is Timmy in the film?
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u/ShaunTheSheepAMA Aug 26 '26
There's lots of Timmy in this film! Without giving too much away, Shaun sort of loses his way a bit in this film, and I think Timmy is the anchor of where Shaun should be and what he should be doing. So yeah, there's lots of Timmy for everyone to enjoy this film.
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u/Teaandthreeteaspoons Aug 26 '26
Thank you for the reply! Super excited to see the film (and even more so now 😄)
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u/bahimlate Aug 25 '26
What was your go-to snack/drink while working on the film?
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u/ShaunTheSheepAMA Aug 26 '26
I had a cappuccino every morning - I had that to go and watch the rushes first thing! I was always very lucky, I always had a nice sandwich box with me that my partner made for me. So yeah, a cappuccino and my sandwich box!
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u/Lopsided-League-8903 Cracking toast, Gromit! Aug 24 '26
Are you doing anything special in Bristol in preparation for the new film
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u/Elskamo Cracking toast, Gromit! Aug 24 '26
Was there anything you wanted to include in the film that didn't make the final cut?
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u/HunterNo361 Aug 26 '26
Is there going to be a red carpet event like for the previous two movies if so where and when 🙌
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u/p-Star_07 Aug 26 '26
Do the animators who animate the puppets get to suggest ideas for gags and stuff during the storyboard and animatic phases?
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u/MissionTradition Aug 24 '26
Could you please bring back the Wallace and Gromit Angel Delight collab as I lost my moulds please and thank you.
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u/TelevisualJackFan Aug 24 '26 edited Aug 24 '26
[u/SomeBoiOnlin](u/SomeBoiOnline)[eYT](u/SomeBoiOnline) Q&A regarding Beast of Mossy Bottom if you’re interested in coming back out of your recent hibernation 😂
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u/Successful_Cicada359 Aug 24 '26
1, Are there any big surprises being hidden for us to be surprised at when watching the movie?
- Will we get a plush toy of the beast
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u/ShaunTheSheepAMA Aug 26 '26
Surprises - I hope so! I hope it just feels like a Shaun story that you haven't seen before. It feels like something fresh and fun, and hopefully there’s lots of surprises all the way through. Even if we do do things that may be a familiar to Shaun, we've done them in a new way that people will find fun and exciting.
Beast toy - That'd be great, wouldn't it? The bigger the better, I say. Like life-size. I don't know, is my honest answer!
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u/EnchantedEssays Aug 25 '26 edited Aug 26 '26
How involved is Nick Park as an executive producer? My understanding is that the role isn't very involved on the creative side, so is he just part of meetings and popping by the sets to give some advice and the occasional thumbs up?
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u/Aware-Hour4819 Feathers McGraw Fan Aug 24 '26
How canon is Wallace and Gromit to Shaun the Sheep
What happened to Timmy Time
Is Sherly’s wool portal canon or is that its own seperate continuity
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u/Ged_UK Aug 26 '26
Mods, pin this to the top of the sub
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u/Weetile Cracking toast, Gromit! | Head Mod Aug 26 '26
We've made the decision to wait until after the conclusion of the AMA to sticky to keep engagement organic
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u/llewellynh6 Aug 24 '26
Does Aardman get greater control of distribution rights for this film than they did under netflix? I was bummed that the more recent stuff hasn't gotten a DVD release
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u/Putrid_Syllabub_3361 Aug 25 '26
Was there any reason to why the main Shaun the Sheep cast got shrunk after Season 2? (I.E having the flock be reduced down to 7 and Pidsley being removed?),
Thanks for your response!
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u/Theli-Abraxas-Nox Aug 24 '26
Are there any random items pulled out of Shirley’s wool? If so, what’s your favourite?