Rank Em: The Aardman Films

After watching "Early Man," it struck me just how long Aardman Studios has been around, and the impressive run of films they've created over the years. The next two Aardman films are going to be sequels to "Shaun the Sheep" and "Chicken Run," so I think this is a good time to take a pause and look back on their cinematic contributions to date.

Chicken Run (2000) - It's "The Great Escape" with chickens! Aardman's first theatrical film remains its best, with some of its most memorable characters and set pieces. Mel Gibson's brash American Rocky, Jane Horrock's cheerfully dimwitted Babs, and Miranda Richardson as the evil Mrs. Tweedy stick out for me as the highlights in a terribly charming, beautifully executed caper film. It delivers some real suspense and moments of pathos too, representative of Aardman's best work.

Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) - Aardman's "Shaun the Sheep" television series is a lot of fun for tots, but the film version is on another level. The largely silent feature takes our familiar fluffy heroes off the farm and to the big city, when their beloved boss, the farmer, goes missing. The gags are great, the characters are memorable, and the stakes are high enough to get really emotionally invested in. I look forward to next year's sequel, titled "Farmageddon," with eager anticipation.

Flushed Away (2006) - I find myself a rare defender of the studio's first CGI effort, about a domesticated pet rat who is accidentally flushed down into the sewers, and discovers a city of rodents living there. Hugh Jackman and Kate Winslet are fantastic as the furry leads, up against Ian McKellan and Jean Reno as evil amphibian crime bosses. The fish out of water story is a familiar one, but told here with a lot of great energy and creativity. I also love the worldbuilding and the peppy soundtrack.

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) - Like most people, I first encountered Aardman through the "Wallace and Gromit" shorts. I think I would have liked the movie considerably better if I didn't have the shorts to compare them to. Frankly, the horror spoof is only moderately successful, and I felt the supernatural elements weren't a good fit tonally for our intrepid inventors. But that said, it's impossible not to root for Gromit, and all those adorable stop-motion bunnies and giant vegetables make for a lot of great visual gags.

The Pirates! (2012) - I'm going to leave off the second part of the film's title, which changes depending on what country you're in. This wonderfully silly pirate movie has a lot going for it, including a stellar voice cast led by Hugh Grant and some really impressive character designs. Alas, the story never really adds up to much beyond a lot of pleasant farce, and a lot of the derring do is pretty forgettable. I admit that I completely forgot that "Pirates!" existed as I was compiling the titles for this list. In the end, this one feels awfully derivative, and a little half-baked.

Arthur Christmas (2011) - A very competently made Christmas film that clearly has its heart in the right place, but this one didn't connect with me at all. There's just something about the squabbling family, the treatment of the North Pole like a modernizing business, and the generic character designs that made this one feel overly slick. I know I've seen this, and more than once, but I barely remember anything about it, except for the parts that I didn't much like. Like the ""Prep and Landing" short from around the same time, attempts to update Santa leave me cold.

Early Man (2018) - Was anyone else surprised that this was actually a soccer movie? "Early Man" is Nick Park's first major directorial effort in a decade, and I'm sorry to say that it's a very minor effort. While there is some undeniable joy in seeing Park's brand of stop-motion animation back on the big screen with all his little signature hallmarks, there's just not enough here to justify a full film. And it's a shame because I think that a few characters and concepts had some promise. Oh well. Back to the drawing board and better luck next time.

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