the history of shaun the sheep
A Close Shave
Shaun the Sheep's first acting role was in the classic Wallace and Gromit
adventure, A Close Shave (1995). The human inventor Wallace and his doggy
sidekick Gromit had appeared in two previous animated films, A Grand Day Out
and The Wrong Trousers, but had yet to be joined by any sheep.
A Close Shave was hugely successful, and won the 1995 Oscar for animated short film. Shaun Sheep's performance met with particular critical acclaim.
In A Close Shave, Shaun plays Shaun, a sheep (some critics have blamed this film for his subsequent typecasting in similar roles). Wallace and Gromit are cleaning the windows of a wool shop owned by a lady named Wendolene. Wendolene's robot dog, Preston, is involved in a secret black market sheep-rustling scheme.
Preston blames Wallace for the sheep thefts and has him sent to jail. Meanwhile, a small sheep named Shaun is introduced to us as one of the stolen sheep. He gets a robust introduction to Wallace's inventions when he is accidentally put through a shearing machine, which cuts off all his wool. Thankfully Wallace and Gromit make him a nice woolly jumper out of his own wool to keep him warm. They also give him his name at this point - Shaun, as he had, of course, just been shorn.
Wallace, Shaun and the flock of sheep manage to break Gromit out of jail, and Gromit and Shaun defeat the evil Preston by running him through a dog food processor.
Cracking Contraptions
Shaun's next role was in the short series of Wallace and Gromit films called Cracking Contraptions. These films, which were only one to three minutes long, centred on Wallace's talent for inventing bizarre and sometimes even useful machines and contraptions.
Shaun reprises his role as a sheep called Shaun in the episode entitled Shopper 13, in which Wallace invents an automated shopping trolley to try to bring home cheese from the supermarket. Disaster strikes, however, and it's up to Shaun to save the day.
Although this feature (and series) received less critical acclaim then A Close Shave, this can probably be attributed to the very short length of the films. Shaun has also blamed his agent for a lack of publicity opportunities.
Shaun the Sheep
Undoubtedly Shaun's biggest break to date - his own series. Although there were difficult decisions to be made as to whether it was wise to play yet another sheep called Shaun, Shaun eventually signed on the dotted line, and he has never looked back.
So far, a full 40 episodes have been filmed, with Shaun the eponymous star in every one. Difficult situations, crises, lost chicks, drying cement, bouncing pigs and wayward aliens have all tested Shaun's acting ability to the limit, and every time he has proved once again what a truly talented, empathetic and significant actor he is.
I do not think it would be going too far to say that Shaun is the most important sheep thespian working today.