art car rolls on

Iconic Houston art car parade revs up with weekend virtual edition

Fans of the Art Car Parade can enjoy the spectacle at home this weekend.

Photo by Morris Malakoff

In a normal year, the middle of April in Houston would see thousands of locals of all ages packing city streets to watch eye-catching, over-the-top mobile masterpieces in procession during the beloved and annual Houston Art Car Parade.

But, this is anything but a normal year.

In March, the Art Car Parade staff canceled the event due to COVID-19 and social distancing concerns, leaving fans and participants in limbo. But despite the cancellation, organizers at the Orange Show for Visionary Art (the event’s parent group) have opted for a “Virtual Edition” of the 33rd annual parade.

The virtual parade allows art car fans to watch myriad parade events from the comfort of their homes starting Saturday, April 18. Complete viewing information, including links, is available online and Facebook Live.

The weekend’s streaming schedule includes live tours of the Orange Show’s three Houston landmarks — The Orange Show, The Beer Can House, and Smither Park — and footage of Houston Art Car Parade Weekends throughout the years, according to an Orange Show statement.

Also included is an airing of Art Car: The Movie, a feature-length film by Houston filmmakers Ford Gunter and Carlton Ahrens that follows artist and educator Rebecca Bass and her high school class as they prepare an entry for the 2010 Houston Art Car Parade.

Fans can look for video messages from Art Car artists, showcasing their works, as well as testimonials from notable Houstonians talking about what the Houston Art Car Parade means to them. The video messages will be broadcast on HTV, as well as on the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art’s YouTube channel, which is accessible through the Houston Art Car Parade website.

Throughout the weekend, the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art will also be accepting donations towards the Houston Art Car Parade Weekend. Fans can make a donation by texting ARTCAR to 44-321.

Here is the entire weekend streaming schedule:

Saturday April 18

12 pm - Facebook Live – Live tour of The Orange Show
12:20 pm - Facebook Live – Live tour of The Beer Can House
12:40 pm - Facebook Live – Live tour of Smither Park
1 pm - ABC-13 – Re-broadcast of the 2019 Houston Art Car Parade
2 pm - HTV - Houston Art Car Parade Through the Years & Messages from the Artists
4 pm - HTV – The 30th Anniversary of The Houston Art Car Parade
4:15 pm - HTV - Pinholes for Pinheads: The 2019 Houston Art Car Parade
4:30 pm - HTV - Art Car: The Movie
6 pm - Facebook Live - Live from The Orange Show World Headquarters

Sunday, April 19

12 pm - Facebook Live – Live tour of The Orange Show
12:20 pm - Facebook Live – Live tour of The Beer Can House
12:40 pm - Facebook Live – Live tour of Smither Park
1 pm - Facebook Live - Live from The Orange Show World Headquarters
2 pm - HTV - Houston Art Car Parade Through the Years & Messages from the Artists
4 pm - HTV – The 30th Anniversary of The Houston Art Car Parade
4:15 pm - HTV - Pinholes for Pinheads: The 2019 Houston Art Car Parade
4:30 pm - HTV - Art Car: The Movie

festivals

Movie Review

Shaun the Sheep welcomes spooky season with PG-scary new movie

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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