Shaun the Sheep
Season 5, Episode 6: "Babysitter Bitzer" (8 minutes)
UK: Aardman
CBBC, Wednesday 25 October, 15:05
I have a confession to make, folks. An awful, hideous confession for a stop-motion animator. An even worse confession for a stop-motion animator staying in Nick Park's hometown of Preston.
I hate Wallace & Gromit.
Now don't get me wrong, I had the video tapes when I was little, and I did watch them a fair few times because my brother liked it. I also seem to remember some sort of W&G software disc, featuring a game where you had to lip-synch dialogue which I loved. But I always found the shorts boring. Wallace's lonely little existence in a brown 1950s house, with no friends except his dog, always left me feeling depressed. As did that poor oven / fridge / robot thing that someone abandoned on the moon. So it's a bit frustrating that whenever someone asks me what I do, they only understand if I say "like Wallace & Gromit".
Get on with it!
My point is, I've deliberated avoided Shaun the Sheep in the past, even though it's hugely popular. But now I've seen an episode, I must say that I actually enjoyed it. I appreciate good animated body language, and the physical acting here is absolutely perfect. There is no dialogue at all, but it's completely clear through the pantomiming what's going on. It was entertaining and cute. And in terms of things like character designs, lighting, and so on, it's got a really cinematic look. It's high quality stuff, especially in comparison to other kids' tv programmes
In brief: all the lady sheep are going out on a hen night (as they do), and baby Timmy is dumped into the care of the unexpecting sheepdog Bitzer for the night. Timmy's mum leaves Bitzer with instructions to feed the lamb, bathe him, and read him a bedtime story. But Timmy, being a little shit, has other plans, and runs the poor dog ragged. Mum returns home to find Timmy wide awake watching TV, and Bitzer fast asleep in Timmy's bed.
In terms of educational content, well there isn't any, it's pure entertainment. However, I would argue that perhaps Timmy is a bad influence, as he is very naughty and disobedient throughout the episode, refusing to eat, have a bath or go to sleep, and doesn't receive any type of punishment. I also noted a portrayal of Timmy's single mother as a bad mother, going out partying and just dumping her child on the nearest available person. Whether that's recurring throughout the series, however, I don't know. And personally, I feel like at a certain point you just have to say "it's just a slapstick cartoon about animals".
Available to watch online until 23 November 2017.
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