Wallace & Gromit's Overlooked Spinoff Is Officially Switching Genres With Its Next Movie

Beloved British stop-motion studio Aardman is best known as the home of Wallace and Gromit, but if you've been sleeping on the equally delightful Shaun the Sheep, you're sorely missing out. The ovine protagonist, voiced by Justin Fletcher, first appeared in the 1995 Wallace & Gromit short film, A Close Shave. A decade later, in 2007, Shaun got his own spinoff series, which ran for seven seasons across the BBC and Netflix, and may eventually return for season 8. In the meantime, there's also a budding Shaun the Sheep film series, which is set to return to theaters on Sept. 18 in both the U.S. and the U.K.

Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom takes the kid-friendly franchise in a decidedly spooky direction. And this exclusive image provided to Polygon by Aardman (pictured above) offers a fresh look at Shaun's latest Halloween-themed adventure.

What's the plot of Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom?

Here's the official synopsis, according to Aardman:

Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom sees the residents of Mossy Bottom Farm looking forward to Halloween — until the clumsy Farmer trashes the Flock’s beloved pumpkin patch! When Shaun turns Mad Scientist to fix the problem, things rapidly spiral out of control... With The Farmer missing and a wild beast roaming the woods of Mossingham, all the ingredients are in place for a monstrously fun family adventure.

Sounds like some spoopy Halloween fun. With that plot in mind, take a closer look at our exclusive image. What is Shaun holding?

Image: Aardman

If you answered "a pumpkin seed," I think you're right. It seems like Shaun may try to regrow the pumpkin patch in time for Halloween by breaking the laws of nature to speed up the process. What could go wrong?

When does Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom come out?

Shaun's next adventure arrives in theaters on Sept. 18. Hey, that's next week!