Talk:Shaun the Sheep

Article Merge

There is also an article Shaun The Sheep, and considering Wallace and Gromit do not (yet!) have their own character articles, it might be an idea to merge these two together. Tim! (talk) 18:52, 17 March 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the suggestion. The two were successfully merged on 30 March, 2006, by Big Bad Baby. --Jatkins 20:27, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Copied information?

Most of this article appears to be promotional marketing fluff copied from the BBC Website or the producer's website. As such, it has an agenda.

It appears that certain parts (mainly the characters section), have been copied from http://www.shaunthesheep.com. Thank you to everyone that has edited this article, but I would suggest putting it in your own words rather than copying from the website, as the is not written in a casual, rather than formal, form (Shaun is a character on the television series, not a real-life sheep). I will try and help when I get time, but I just wanted to point this out. Thank you once again. --Jatkins 20:44, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

I have added the Template:Inappropriate tone tag to this article, as I feel it best represents the status of [certain parts of] this article. --Jatkins 20:46, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

• JUST TO ADD* In case anyone is wondering, the Shaun the Sheep website allows this information to be used anywhere, so it is not (c). However, this does not excuse the fact it is not formal enough. Seb! 19:59, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

• Well, there's a bit of a conflict: at shaunthesheep.com Terms of Use we see "No part of this website may be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of Aardman Animations Ltd." but at http://www.shaunthesheep.com/fankit/ we see "Get the synopsis, character bios, interviews and any production notes to help you write info on the show" and "Here fans will find all they need to dress their sites" with implied but not explicit permission. Point is, even more major rewrite is needed anyways. Sigh. --Lexein 21:39, 31 March 2007 (UTC)
• SO, now it's all better, right? --Lexein 19:14, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

rm inappropriate tone

This has been copyedited down to almost completely NPOV. Adjectives must be used in character descriptions to relate the writer/director's intent. --Lexein 10:31, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

Justification of inclusion of a blog review

Charles Arthur's BLOG review of Shaun the Sheep is included here because he is an established print technology journalist. This was one of 3 reviews found as of 3 April 2007. It can/should go away when more reviews appear in legit press. --Lexein 10:31, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

On categorisation

This article is currently in the category "Films featuring anthropomorphic characters". The rest of the entries appear to be feature films; Shaun the Sheep is a series of TV shorts. Is it the right category? (I ask because I'm not sure!) 131.111.250.80 13:13, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

• There appear not to be any restrictive guidelines mentioned in that category regarding length. The category is not named "Feature Length Films ...", and note that A Grand Day Out is listed there, and it's 23 minutes long. --Lexein 16:28, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

Bitzer name meaning

Previously, someone asserted that "Bitzer" is "(a pun on bites her)", later someone replaced that with "(an indication that he is a mongrel - i.e. bits o'this, bits o'that)". To avoid an edit war, I've moved it here for discussion:

• Is Bitzer a pun on "bites" anything?
• Is Bitzer (bits o') a commonly used UK slang for mongrel?

Neither of these is mentioned or alluded to in the show's official character description. Are there any sources for either of these, relevant to show? If not, I vote for leaving out these add-on descriptions. --Lexein 19:16, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

I thought it was 'Blitzer' - this would make sense as it tends to mean agressive and itching for a fight, coming from the Second World War Blitzkrieg warfare.

As a member of the production team, I can confirm that Richard Goleszowski meant the name "Bitzer" to stand for, "Bits o' this, bits o' that..." He is a dog of mixed parentage!!__Animated70 10:58, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

It's not a new name - the OED defines it as (among other meanings) 'a mongrel dog' and says it originated in the 1920s as an abbreviation of 'bits and pieces'. David (UK) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.115.87.155 (talk) 11:27, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Other countries

"Some of the episodes shown in Germany have not been broadcast in Great Britain as of April 2007." -- not so: the episode titles seem to have changed, that's all. Same 20 initial episodes. The whole run of 20 should by now have aired at least twice in the UK. See also WDR.DE here translated here --Lexein 20:38, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

• Hello, I'm from Germany, and I can confirm the information that some of the episodes which have been broadcast in Germany on "KI.KA" (Kinderkanal = children's television - associated with the WDR which is coproducing the series) are really stories which are not based on any of the 20 plots which can be found in the list of Shaun the Sheep episodes. I noticed that you need an appropiate citation for it: at first I'd suggest a page on KIKA.de, even if this is only a list of the German titles - if you check out those titles, you'll only read "Inhalt wird nachgereicht" which means that there's no content available yet ... However, I could supply you with details about the six "new" episodes which have already been broadcast on KI.KA (German title with English translation / writer of the script / short synopsis), and you may add them to the episode list. Okay? -- Sven H. 14:44, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Disney not airing full episodes

I'm an American who just got back from a trip to the UK where I discovered this show (I was already a "Wallace & Gromit" fan). Once I heard it would be on the Disney Channel, I programmed a "season pass" for it into my Tivo. However, the show is only listed as five minutes, not seven. My husband managed to download 20 episodes online through a file sharing site, and I've been watching the episodes that way. On July 8th, when Disney showed "Shape Up With Shaun" I noticed right away that the opening theme had been cut down. (Assuming they took out half, then that's 20 seconds.) So they must be chopping an additional 1:40 out of each episode to make it fit into their timeslot. Is there a place where this can be noted in the article?

It's true to say that the Original episodes are seven minutes long, including titles. Disney required five minute long episodes; this was achieved by cutting down the title sequences and editing some material from each episode. Most of the edited material consisted of shots or scenes that Disney deemed "unacceptable" for children.

The amount of sheep droppings visible in the fields was also reduced for the American market.__Animated70 10:59, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Continuity?

I'm presuming this is the same Shaun who served as the unexpected sidekick to the heroes in "A Close Shave" - is this link documented anywhere? If so, the article does not appear to mention it... Radagast 12:28, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

- You presume Right :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.154.60.75 (talk) 19:20, 31 May 2010 (UTC)

Because this is an article about a programme on TV called 'Shaun The Sheep' that has Shaun the Sheep as it's main character, it's not an actual wiki entry for Shaun himself. 172.159.19.245 (talk) 03:33, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

References to popular culture

I found another major reference that is not mentioned yet. In the Episode 'Washday' Shaun and another Sheep is dancing on the washing machine in a way like dancers do in the famous show RIVERDANCE. (See Washday at aprox 3:50' running time) -Marcus

• I'd say add it as I remember it also included some faux-Riverdance music which prett much confirms the reference.--Co fragment (talk) 14:47, 17 December 2007 (UTC)

The incident where the alien gives his vehicle 'a damn good thrashing' with a branch occurs in 'The Visitor', not 'Shaun Encounters'. David, UK 87.113.91.135 (talk) 12:08, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

The comic book Bitzer reads in several episodes, isn't that Genie des alpages (sp?) characters? (129.242.219.18 (talk) 10:34, 10 November 2008 (UTC))

"Shaun" is pronounced "shorn" by certain regional dialects in England???

Hi, I see this explanation of Shaun's name in the main article? It intrigued me, because I don't know of any other way to pronounce Shaun. The main article implies that this is an unusual pronunciation, ie that "Shaun" is usually NOT pronounced "Shorn". Can someone enlighten me? THanks heaps. Leeborkman (talk) 12:21, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

It's the other way 'round. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.73.70.113 (talk) 03:50, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

To Americans and other speakers of rhotic dialects, the "r" in "shorn" makes it sound different from "Shaun". In IPA terms, an American pronounces "shorn" as /ʃoʊrn/ and "Shaun" as /ʃɔn/, while most Brits pronounce both words as /ʃɔn/. —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 02:09, 3 November 2009 (UTC)

Minor characters

There should be a mention of aliens here. A family of aliens appears in 'Shaun Encounters' and a similar lone alien in 'The Visitor'. David, UK 87.113.91.135 (talk) 12:13, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

someone added "Farmers cat" which is already (correctly) listed as "Pidsley". In addition, the reference to Mountains out of molehills is wrong; Pidsley's main appearance is in Timmy in a tizzy. Mark D. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.143.202.83 (talk) 21:04, 16 October 2009 (UTC)

Review source

A Leap for Lambkind review Toonzone.net --Lexein (talk) 11:47, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

Is it appropriate for "Is a Legend"?

Not really sure if it's appropriate for an encyclopedic entry saying that Shaun is a legend. Whilst he is, surely it's for other people to decide... "Encyclopedic content must be verifiable." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.161.25.219 (talk) 19:50, 17 October 2010 (UTC)

questionable information

There are a couple of things that seems questionable and that I cannot verify on the official site. First, the statement that the sheep are Suffolks because they are blackfaced white sheep (there are other breeds that fit that description, though not many), and second that Timmy is Shaun's cousin. Both of these statements seem like they are unverified presumptions. Does anyone know of a source to verify these statements? --H-ko (Talk) 21:31, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

Good points. The List of Shaun the Sheep episodes uses the "official text kit" for early episode titles. The kit also contains character descriptions; it can be considered a reliable WP:Primary source:

• Shaun the Sheep Text kit. Aardman Animation. Retrieved 2010-09-05. Descriptions paraphrased. (linked to from the Goodies page.)

Might be helpful to check for copy/paste from the kit. It is a press release, intended to be copied from without attribution, but of course we always cite sources anyways. :--Lexein (talk) 01:57, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

I think I am going to remove the part about being Suffolks, most of the sheep do look like Suffolks, but Shaun looks more like a Shropshire. Anyway there is no source. 71.194.44.209 (talk) 16:00, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

Characters

does every animal or musical instrument have to be listed here? also, where do you get the names for the characters? 71.194.44.209 (talk) 04:19, 24 May 2011 (UTC)

New look Bitzer/Farmer

With series 2 came updated Bitzer and Farmer - noteworthy? http://www. s q u i d o o.com/shaun-the-sheep-aardman (obfuscated because of the wiki spam filter but this page is harmless). 92.194.158.178 (talk) 17:37, 14 April 2012 (UTC)

language

The infobox lists the language as English, but surely one of the key features of the programme is that it's not in any language (except perhaps sheep language)? Samatarou (talk) 23:05, 25 April 2013 (UTC)

Edit request on 30 September 2013

it still needs a US distributor, not GKids, Magnolia Pictures, The Weinstein Company and IFC Films. how about Summit Entertainment or Universal Pictures. 94.10.15.35 (talk) 17:27, 30 September 2013 (UTC)

It will have a US distributor when the producers are ready to sell it. End of discussion. Freshh (talk) 19:49, 30 September 2013 (UTC)

Typos

Page is protected, could those with power to edit it fix some typos? E.g.: The Granny is a short-tempered, short-sighted old lady, appearing in "Takeaway" and "Save the Tree". She also appears in "Two's Company", holding a cart and "The Big Chase", forcing the pigs to give her a lift in their car. Ehe is reputed for hitting people (or animals) with her handbag whenn they annoy her. Boyandin (talk) 11:55, 2 October 2013 (UTC)

farm

dose anyone know the name of the farm where it is set — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.102.93.78 (talk) 22:04, 17 December 2014 (UTC)

Shaun in the city

Can some help with listing the Shaun's in Draft:Shaun in the city

Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.102.93.78 (talk) 14:57, 25 June 2015 (UTC)

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Sheepquel

Dose anyone want to help with the draft for the upcoming sqeuel User:Fanoflionking Fanoflionking 18:19, 17 May 2018 (UTC)

New

shaun the sheep: A Winter’s Tale is now in darfts. Fanoflionking 15:23, 17 February 2020 (UTC)

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Shaun the sheep dog

Shaun the sheep dog 37.131.113.232 (talk) 16:30, 23 February 2022 (UTC)

@37.131.113.232 he is called Bitzer 86.5.198.241 (talk) 13:02, 29 April 2022 (UTC)

Species

The article asserts that Shaun is a Shropshire sheep, but it doesn't cite any sources and I couldn't find any by searching online either. 2A02:908:1068:8500:0:0:0:D3F8 (talk) 14:25, 17 May 2023 (UTC)

Removed until someone can find a source, which I couldn't after 30 minutes of searching. - X201 (talk) 14:45, 17 May 2023 (UTC)

Weird vandal

For some reason, someone changed words around? Like, "preschool" was changed to "nursery", and it wasn't just the grammar changes. So, that's fixed for now. Don't know who did this, but I hope they aren't affecting other articles. WannurSyafiqah74 (talk) 17:21, 23 September 2023 (UTC)