When I first saw the poster for The Sheep Detectives, I admit I was ready to dismiss it as yet another empty, star-studded talking-animal picture. And yet, lo and behold, I found Minions director Kyle Balda and The Last of Us writer Craig Mazin’s adaptation of the 2005 novel Three Bags Full is packed with so much charm that it is one of my biggest surprises of the year so far.
Set in the quaint English village of Denbrook, we are first introduced to George Hardy, played by Hugh Jackman, a shepherd who loves his sheep more than nearly anything in the world. He certainly likes them more than the rest of his fellow villagers, namely rival shepherd Caleb, played by Tosin Cole, butcher Ham Gilyard, played by Conleth Hill, local priest Reverend Hillcoate, played by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, and innkeeper Beth Pennock, played by Hong Chau.
Every day, George lovingly tends to the sheep’s various needs, giving each of them their own name, giving them their daily medication, harvesting only their wool and reading them his favourite detective novels at the end of each day. George laughs to himself that he doubts they can understand him, when in reality, they can. One day, George is suddenly found dead outside his trailer, and bumbling cop Tim Derry, played by Nicholas Braun, almost immediately dismisses it as an accident.
“The Sheep Detectives is packed with so much charm that it is one of my biggest surprises of the year so far.”
However, the sheep, as well as junior reporter Elliot Mathews (Nicholas Galitzine), uncover evidence proving foul play, coinciding with the sudden arrival of George’s long-lost daughter Rebecca (Molly Gordon). As a result, The flock–led by their smartest sheep Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) – must use their whodunnit know-how to help guide Officer Derry towards uncovering the true culprit.
I was surprised at how much The Sheep Detectives addressed grief in a way that’s frank yet palatable for very young children. The sheep live comfortable lives, so much so that they’ve never ventured outside their meadow, and all of them (save for Chris O’Dowd’s Mopple) have the ability to instantly forget anything that could even remotely be perceived as upsetting.
They do not even believe they can really die. Rather, they believe they merely turn into clouds. It takes black-wooled loner Sebastian, played with surprising gravitas by Bryan Cranston, to bring his fellow sheep out of their comfort zone and help them experience just a tiny bit more of the world. The film demonstrates how even the pain of losing a loved one is important to keeping their memory and that love alive, and it gives the film an unexpected weight that really threw me off because of how well executed it was.
“The Sheep Detectives is a family film that will actually work for the whole family.”
Do not get me wrong: The Sheep Detectives is still very silly and lighthearted for most of its runtime. Even with the humour primarily revolving around these regular sheep getting into shenanigans while trying to solve this murder, it almost never feels as obnoxious as many of these other talking-animal films tend to be. It does not overly rely on pop culture references as a disguise for humour.
Rather, Mazin brings to life the novel’s love for detective stories like Agatha Christie and uses that to make fun of a few of the genre’s tropes, even while playing it pretty straight. Also, the impressively realistic visual effects and fun voice cast, which also includes Patrick Stewart as the elderly Sir Richfield, Regina Hall as diva Cloud and my favourite, Brett Goldstein as a pair of constantly duelling rams, Ronnie and Reggie, help make these sheep all feel distinct from one another. Not all of their bits land, but the shenanigans work much more than they do not.
The human actors are also really fun in their scenes. Although Hugh Jackman is only around for the first act and a few flashbacks, he does bring a warm presence, which is felt throughout the rest of the film. I wish the film had spent a bit more time with a few of the suspects to flesh out their personalities/potential motives, but each actor is fun in their role. Nicholas Braun (who sports a silly English accent) carries the lead well in the latter half, and several of the film’s funniest sequences are his interactions with Emma Thompson, who steals the show in her brief yet hilarious moments as George’s no-nonsense attorney.
The Sheep Detectives is a family film that will actually work for the whole family. Kids will love the sheep’s various antics, and adults will find the murder-mystery legitimately engaging and the emotional throughline to be very affecting. I heard many a sniffle coming from parents in the audience, but I was too busy being in shock at how delightful the entire film was.
