Sean the Sheep: Farmageddon (2019), directed by Will Becher & Richard Phelan

What a pleasure it is to enter the funny, clever and joyous world of Aardman. A blatant rip-off of ET, Farmageddon is a much better film. It avoids the button-pushing clichés of its progenitor, while retaining its moving moments, along with continuous LOLs. The beauty of Aardman animation is that it makes films ostensibly for kids that actually operate on several levels, with many smart jokes aimed at adults. And it is all done with so few words. Gestures, noises and facial expressions do the bulk of the communication work, which is particularly meaningful in a film about an alien visiting Earth. The music is well chosen to support the non-verbal communication, especially in the second half. It’s a nice touch that traditional farmyard antagonists wind up becoming allies to save the day.