The Sheep Detectives

George (Hugh Jackman) bonds with Lily (voiced by Julia-Louis Dreyfus) in The Sheep Detectives (Distributed by Amazon MGM Studios)

Murder mysteries have made a bit of a comeback in recent years, due in large part to the popularity of the Knives Out series. There has been a resurgence of partially or fully comedic whodunits, both in theaters and on television over the last half-decade. Some of them are clever, some dumb. However, all of the ones I can think of featured humans. Until now.

Enter The Sheep Detectives (based on the 2005 novel “Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story” by Leonie Swann), a live-action, family friendly, mystery/comedy about a flock of sheep attempting to solve the murder of their shepherd. The idea of a bunch of sheep eavesdropping on conversations, finding clues and then planting their discoveries for the slow-witted human police to find sounded too ridiculous to work. Then, I saw it.

Much to my surprise, The Sheep Detectives (101 minutes, minus the end credits) is charming fun. It is smart, with likable characters, a very good cast (onscreen as well as via voiceover), a mystery that makes sense and genuinely amusing jokes. It is also sweet and doesn’t talk down to the younger members of the audience. A cute, small, high-concept movie like this will most likely get lost here at the start of the summer movie season, with a couple of big sequels already in theaters and a lot more franchise entries still to come. Yet I see it developing strong word of mouth and having a long life on streaming (it was made by Amazon Studios, which will absolutely promote the heck out of it on their app).

It is certainly worth checking out if you want a simple detective plot that pays respect to the genre, while also telling a good story. It is actually kind of moving to see a group of sheep discuss death in a deceptively insightful way. I expected nothing coming in and left in a very pleasant mood.

George Hardy is all alone, except for his beloved sheep who he tends to as if they were family, even reading mystery novels to them every night. When George is found dead, nobody seems concerned, besides his flock, who decide they owe it to George to take everything they have learned from the books he read them and find out who is responsible for his death.

The Sheep Detectives is set in a small town where everybody knows each other’s business. Anything unusual is immediately noticed. Its setup is similar to so many other stories, with the main difference being that farm animals are doing the majority of the sleuthing. It is quaint the way the movie acts like any other murder mystery in such a setting. The plot is light-hearted and fun, without being silly. The characters are taking this seriously, even with sheep somehow constantly showing up at every important moment. The humans have their own futures at stake.

The adaptation by Craig Mazin (who has mostly written adult comedies) is really clever in how it establishes individuals (both human and sheep) and makes personality part of the story. Lily is George’s favorite. She is smart to the point where she is a leader to the rest of the flock. Of course, she becomes the one counted on to fix things when George dies. Then there is stoic Sebastian, a loner who understands the world in a way the others don’t, and Mopple, the only member of the group who remembers everything.

The main human character is Officer Tim Derry, well-meaning, but bumbling, finally with an opportunity to prove himself. Then there is Elliot, a reporter from out of town looking for his big break. And Rebecca, George’s daughter, who suspiciously shows up the day after the murder.

The cast is great, with wonderful voice work from the likes of Julia-Louis Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Chris O’Dowd, Patrick Stewart, Brett Goldstein, Regina Hall and Rhys Darby. The human cast is also good, with Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine, Molly Gordon, Emma Thompson and Hugh Jackman leading the way. This isn’t some flashy franchise starter (though I wouldn’t mind getting a sequel); it is simply a well-made, well-performed, well-acted story that just so happens to be about mystery-solving sheep. Definitely check this one out.

3¾ out of 5

Cast:

Julia-Louis Dreyfus as voice of Lily

Nicholas Braun as Officer Tim Derry

Molly Gordon as Rebecca Hampstead

Nicholas Galitzine as Elliot Matthews

Chris O’Dowd as voice of Mopple

Bryan Cranston as voice of Sebastian

Hugh Jackman as Goerge Hardy

Directed by Kyle Balda

Screenplay by Craig Mazin