Film News

KidFilm Festival in Dallas will screen first-ever Looney Tunes feature

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie will headline the 41st annual KidFilm Family Festival.

Ketchup Entertainment

A kid-themed film festival is coming to Dallas: Called The 41st Annual KidFilm Family Festival, it will take place January 18-19 at the Angelika Film Center Dallas, featuring 12 programs with feature films, short films, and author appearances.

KidFilm is a spinoff of the USA Film Festival, the Dallas-based, 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to the encouragement and recognition of excellence in film and video arts.

The highlight of KidFilm is a screening of The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, the first fully-animated feature-length film in Looney Tunes history.

The buddy comedy, scheduled for release on February 28, stars the comedic duo of Porky Pig and Daffy Duck and features hand-drawn 2D animation.

Other highlights include an appearance by author Aaron Reynolds, who's written books like Creepy Carrots!, Creepy Pair of Underwear!, Creepy Crayon!, The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter, and more.

The program will include a screening of the short film version of Creepy Carrots!, followed by a reading of Creepy Crayon!. Free copies of Creepy Crayon! will be distributed to families at the show (while supplies last), and Reynolds will sign books for the kids.

Other feature-length films will include:

Pedro Solís García & Juan Jesús García Galocha's Buffalo Kids (Spain), a hilarious yet heartwarming film filled with devious villains, unexpected heroes and unimaginable adventures.
Richard Claus & Karsten Kiilerich's Panda Bear in Africa (Netherlands/Germany/Denmark/ France), an exciting, adventurous, fish-out-of-water comedy.
Kristina Dufková's Living Large (Czech Republic/Slovakia/France), a charming coming-of-age stop motion film that follows a witty, overweight 12-year-old boy.
Mike Johnson's A Tooth Fairy Tale (USA), a magical tale with a star-studded voice cast that includes Fran Drescher, Jon Lovitz, Boo Boo Stewart, Vivica A. Fox, and Larkin Bell.
Eric Power's Brambletown (USA), a musical film featuring songs from popular children's musicians The Okee Dokee Brothers that explores connections with each other and nature.
Winfried Oelsner's Max and the Senior Squad (Germany), a film about teamwork and finding friendship in the unlikeliest places.
Rodrigo Zanforlin's fantastical Galactic Cat and the Spell of Time (Brazil).

There will also be three short film programs featuring 26 animated and live-action short films from around the world, including two Texas-made films.

National Popcorn Day takes place on Sunday, January 19, and KidFilm will celebrate the occasion by offering 50 percent off popcorn orders at the Angelika that day.

All programs will be presented free, but tickets are required. Tickets for all shows are available at the theater on the day of show only, beginning one hour before each showtime. (Note: Lines can form earlier.)

The full schedule of KidFilm programs may be viewed online at usafilmfestival.com. For additional information, call 214-821-3456.

KidFilm is just one of year-round programs of the USA Film Festival, now in its 55th year, and coming to Dallas in April with lineup and details still to be announced. The USA Film Festival is supported by the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Movie Review

Shaun the Sheep gets PG-spooky in new movie for the Halloween season

Photo courtesy of Aardman / Sky UK LTD / StudioCanal 2026

Shaun the Sheep in Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom.

Since his introduction over 30 years ago, the Aardman Animations character Shaun the Sheep has been almost as popular as the studio’s flagship characters, Wallace and Gromit. There is never a shortage of trouble Shaun can get into as he leads his flock and proves to be a thorn in the side of his farmer and Bitzer, the farmer’s loyal sheepdog.

His antics lead everyone down some slightly spooky roads in the new film, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom. At first, things are only slightly awry as Shaun and the flock are growing a secret pumpkin patch to have their own jack-o-lanterns. But when the farmer accidentally destroys the pumpkin patch, Shaun tries to regrow it quickly with a Frankenstein-esque experiment.

However, disaster looms when Shaun uses an old bottle of Hair-Gro as the container for the serum he creates. Naturally, the balding farmer uses it on his head, and everyone soon discovers how truly successful it is, with pumpkins growing out of control and the farmer sprouting hair all over his body. Through a series of mishaps, the farmer becomes the titular beast, creating mayhem while Shaun and others try to stop him.

Directed by Steve Cox and Matthew Walker, and written by Mark Burton and Giles Pilbrow, the film goes down just as easy as every other Aardman project has. They get the Halloween vibes started from the opening credits, with things like the sheep doing the “Thriller” dance, and continue the fun throughout, referencing everything from Psycho to Friday the 13th in a nice, PG way.

With no script — every character is mute save for reaction noises — the movie relies on sight gags for its humor, and the Aardman team is endlessly inventive in that respect. Sometimes it’s small things like a sheep using toilet paper rolls as binoculars, and sometimes it’s something like forcing the Bigfoot-like farmer to be shaped into a rectangle as he escapes through a window. But there’s a never-ending stream of such moments, so even if one doesn’t tickle your funny bone, chances are the next one will.

The biggest benefit of the characters not talking is that there’s no need for deep character development. The filmmakers do a great job of giving the basic traits of each character, and then use those attributes to color everyone’s actions for the rest of the film. Shaun is the troublemaker, the farmer is a bumbling fool, Bitzer is preternaturally smart, and the town’s vet is empathetic, and the combination of those characters and others makes for a highly entertaining blend.

Like all Aardman creations, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom is a fun lark that doesn’t make its audience think too hard. With just enough references to keep viewers engaged but not so many as to be overbearing, the film puts its well-worn characters to good use once again, delivering a Halloween season story that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

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Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom is now playing in theaters.

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