Shaun The Sheep 3: The Beast Of Mossy Bottom has a Halloween-like feel, given the forthcoming spooky season, but opens innocently enough, as the farmer, voiced by John Sparkes, fancies vet Nina Sosanya, and it’s reciprocated.
However, thanks to various accidental situations, they both keep missing each other, such as when she turns round, just after a goat’s grabbed a rope that got caught around the farmer’s leg and whisks him away, causing Shaun and co to hide, while one of them hyperventilates into a paper bag.
Back in the barn, Shaun has a huge science lab with a “Home Made Science” book, which partially gets covered up in the process, leading other sheep to read it as “Mad Science”. In fact, this Frankenstein-like place has so much electricity, it turns the radio on, and to Radio 4 for The Archers!
With a little luck, Shaun creates a hair restoring tonic that not only gives the unnamed farmer a huge barnet, but also sprouts about everywhere, to the point where HE is the Beast of Mossy Bottom, looking like Bigfoot!
Shaun The Sheep 3: The Beast Of Mossy Bottom has quite a number of sight gags, such as how since the farmer’s eyesight isn’t the greatest, he ends up using flowers for deodorant. Plus, where an influencer is live-streaming the ‘beast’ running about, one idiot is shown staring into his phone at it – exactly as it’s running past him.
So many have their heads stuck in their phones. Don’t you realise when you’re completely wasting your time? Please stop… especially in the cinema!
And to that end, there was a family in front of me, where, as the film started, the daughter (on the left) was aiming her phone at her brother, sat on the other side of their mum. After a minute of watching this, I intervened, “Excuse me. Can you put your phone away, please?” – and they did.
Another amusing sight gag referred to Back To The Future, with electricity shooting down a broken power cable, and Shaun trying to hold it together and join the gap.
Sadly, what wasn’t a sight gag, was the sight of a man hurrying his child out of the auditorium before the final scene had concluded, as if they were in a mad rush. The film’s only 80 minutes including end credits – and those are quite lengthy, so it’s a total of around 73 minutes before they start.
NOTE: There is a mid-credits scene, which comes quite early on, and still, some families had hurried out of the room before it started!
Shaun The Sheep: The Beast Of Mossy Bottom is in cinemas from tomorrow, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, once announced, it will appear on the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 80 minutes
Release date: September 18th 2026
Studio: Studiocanal
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 4/10
Directors: Steve Cox, Matthew Walker
Producer: Richard Beek
Writers: Mark Burton, Giles Pilbrow
Music: Natalie Holt
Cast:
Shaun / Timmy: Justin Fletcher
Bitzer / The Farmer: John Sparkes
Vet: Nina Sosanya
Shopkeeper: Paul Whitehouse
Influencer: Dani Dyer
Timmy’s Mum: Kate Harbour
Pizza Boy: Bloody Roman Kemp
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.