The film marks the 50th anniversary of Aardman, founded in Bristol in 1976 by Peter Lord and David Sproxton who went to school together and used to make models on a kitchen table.
Crochet hook in hand, the animator slightly raises the eyelid of a clay model sheep in a filmmaking technique as old as cinema, perfected over five decades by Aardman Animations.
In the basement of the Bristol-based company -- whose beloved characters such as Wallace and Gromit have won them four Oscars -- designers have been working for the past three-and-a-half years on the latest adventure in their "Shaun the Sheep" series.
"Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom" is the third full-length film starring the mischievous, savvy sheep, due to be released on September 18 in UK cinemas.
This time Shaun and his flock have to work together to save Halloween from a fur-raising creature terrorising their farm's pumpkin patch.
