I received funny looks from people last week every time I mentioned the fact that I was heading to the cinema to see The Sheep Detectives. Nobody seemed to think that it sounded like an enjoyable and watchable film. That's their loss. The Sheep Detectives is sweet, funny, and manages to hang everything on a central murder mystery that feels as well-constructed as it is comprehensible for younger viewers who may have a lot less experience with the template being used.
Hugh Jackman plays a shepherd/farmer named George Hardy, happiest when spending time with his sheep. He reads mystery novels to them every day, oblivious to the fact that the animals actually understand everything he's saying, and often have their own conversations about the plot when he's then taken himself off to bed for the night. Which ends up being good practice for them all when George is found dead one morning. Murdered. It's doubtful that the local nice-but-dim policeman, Officer Tim Derry (Nicholas Braun), will crack the case, which means it's up to the sheep. Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is arguably the smartest one, but she's helped by the likes of Mopple (Chris O'Dowd), Wool-Eyes (Rhys Darby), Cloud (Regina Hall), Sir Ritchfield (Patrick Stewart), Zora (Bella Ramsey), and Sebastian (Bryan Cranston). There are enough suspects in the local village, and the population has a few extra bodies in the shape of George's daughter, Rebecca (Molly Gordon), a lawyer named Lydia Harbottle (Emma Thompson), and a small-time journalist hoping for a big break (Nicholas Galitzine).
Based on a novel, "Three Bags Full", by Leonie Swann, this has been adapted into screenplay form by the talented Craig Mazin. He knows what people will want from this, and he delivers. The central investigation doesn't seem to cheat, there's a satisfying reveal and explanation that would make Agatha Christie proud, and you get plenty of moments that just have lambs being cute, sheep being amusingly sheep-ish, and a perfect mix of entertainment that displays danger one minute and cosy safety the next.
Director Kyle Balda has spent the last 15 years or so helming animated shorts and features, which makes him a good pick for something that relies on a flock of main characters created by, or enhanced with, top-notch computer work. You could tell me that 90% of the sheep onscreen here were entirely CGI and I would believe you. You could also tell me that 90% of the sheep onscreen here were entirely real and I would believe you just as readily. The impressive thing is that it's hard to see any "join", and a lot of that comes from the steady guiding hand of Balda.
While the voice cast all do great work, many of them are such a good fit for their characters that I suspect many viewers will struggle to place them until the end credits roll. Aside from those already mentioned, and lead duties are roughly shared between Louis-Dreyfus, O'Dowd, and Cranston, there's also a very enjoyable performance from Brett Goldstein, pulling double duty as the voices of Reggie and Ronnie, two sheep happiest when given permission to ram into things. Thankfully, the live-action cast members do enough to justify stealing screentime away from the sheep. Gordon is as easy to like as she usually is, Thompson is a lot of fun, Galitzine gets to upset a few people with his questions, and Braun manages to be sweet and amusing, AND maintains a pretty decent English accent throughout.
It takes a little while to acclimatise to how everything is presented, but most viewers will find that they soon start ignoring the artifice in favour of the characters and the unfolding mystery. There's a helpful, and lovely, score by Christophe Beck, decent pacing that makes the 109-minute runtime pass by quickly enough, and a perfect handling of tone that allows for some timely tears and tension in between the frequent chuckles. I hope that more and more people will eventually be convinced to give this a go, and it may well turn out to be the most delightful feature film of 2026.
8/10
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