Shaun the Sheep's first appearance was in Wallace & Gromit's third short feature, the Academy Award winning "A Close Shave", as the youngest member of a flock of sheep Wallace and Gromit work to save from being turned into dog food. He was named Shaun as a pun on the word "shorn" after he was accidentally subjected to Wallace's automated sheep shearing machine. This early version of Shaun shows a hint of his characteristic human-like bravado—among other things, wearing a sweater knitted from his own shorn wool—and he proves to be a major help in saving the day.