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4.8/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 4.8/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Run Sheep, Run! remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have a soft spot for the really early, slightly unhinged era of animation, you will probably dig Run Sheep, Run!. It is short, musical, and moves like it is powered by pure caffeine. If you get annoyed by characters who do the exact same dance move for ten seconds straight, you might want to look elsewhere.
Watching this felt a bit like stumbling into a strange, rhythmic trance. The way the sheep move isn't exactly... biological. They kind of flop and stretch across the screen in that specific way that only 1930s cartoons really mastered.
The whole thing is built around the music. Sometimes the syncing is brilliant, and other times it feels like the animators just gave up and let the loops run wild. You can almost see the gears grinding behind the scenes. It’s charming, though.
There is this one moment where the sheep start jumping over a fence, and it just keeps going. And going. It’s not funny after the third time, but it’s weirdly hypnotic. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in The Carnival Man, where things just sort of pile on top of each other until the screen is full of noise.
Let’s be honest: nobody is watching this for the deep emotional narrative. It’s a doodle brought to life. The backgrounds have that hand-painted, slightly dusty look that makes you feel like you’re watching a piece of history that’s been sitting in a drawer for eighty years.
Compared to something like A Kentucky Cinderella, this is pure fluff. But sometimes you need fluff. It’s just a weird little loop of music and movement that doesn't ask you to think too hard. 🐑
Honestly? The ending happens so fast you might miss it if you blink. It doesn't really resolve anything, it just sort of stops. Very abrupt. Like someone pulled the plug on the projector.