‘Shaun the Sheep’ Faces ‘The Beast of Mossy Bottom’
'Shaun the Sheep' is back for a third film, and this time it's getting proper theatrical distribution.
We rarely get the chance to talk about the Children’s BBC (CBBC). I’d hoped that the recent mega-success of Bluey might have other streaming services looking to the CBBC for imports. However, apart from Crookhaven crossing over to BBC One, very few British productions for kids have the kind of momentum needed to break the barrier. In most cases, those that do find American distributors are lost in the unmarketed wilds of unorganized user interfaces that never surface them, or only a few seasons scattered across multiple services.
Shaun the Sheep is a perfect example of the phenomenon. The award-winning Aardman Animations TV series was first launched in 2007, focusing on the adorable sheep character from Wallace & Gromit’s A Close Shave. Thus far, there have been seven seasons (totaling 190 episodes); two Christmas Specials (one in 2015, one in 2021); two spin-off limited series (another 36 episodes); and now a third feature film is set to arrive in September.
Americans will be forgiven for only knowing about the films. Netflix made a half-hearted attempt to bring Shaun the Sheep to America, including bankrolling one of those films, 2019’s A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon.
But a straight-to-streaming release and zero marketing meant the series went nowhere. Netflix moved on, and now most of what there is of the Shaun the Sheep franchise is hidden away on Prime Video and Tubi.
However, there is a silver lining: Netflix’s exit meant Aardman Animations was free to market the next film to a company that would actually put it in theaters. The new distributor, Studio Canal, has set a mid-September release date, hoping to conquer the 2026 Spooky Season.
Here’s the film’s synopsis:
Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom sees the residents of Mossy Bottom Farm looking forward to Halloween — until the clumsy Farmer trashes the Flock’s beloved pumpkin patch! When Shaun turns Mad Scientist to fix the problem, things rapidly spiral out of control… With The Farmer missing and a wild beast roaming the woods of Mossingham, all the ingredients are in place for a monstrously fun family adventure.
If you are as fascinated by the process of claymation as I am, you will also appreciate this behind-the-scenes video for the making of the film’s... official poster? (Listen, it’s an impressive poster, okay?)
Justin Fletcher (Shaun the Sheep) returns as the voice of Timmy and the titular Shaun (he also voices the other members of the Flock). He is joined by Kate Harbour (Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget) as Timmy’s Mother, John Sparkes (Peppa Pig) as Bitzer the dog, and Dani Dyer (Heckle) as Mossingham’s new local influencer.
The film is written by Mark Burton (Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit) and Giles Pilbrow (Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas). Aardman animation collaborators Steve Cox and Matthew Walker co-direct in their feature directorial debut.
Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom will debut in U.S. and U.K. theaters on Friday, September 18, 2026.
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