The Sheep Detectives

by Julian Spivey

Photo: Amazon MGM Studios

Director: Kyle Balda
Starring: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Nicholas Braun & Hugh Jackman
Rated: PG (thematic material, some violent content & brief language)
Runtime: 1 hour & 49 minutes

 
A few months ago, my wife and I were at the local movie theater when we saw the trailer for “The Sheep Detectives.” It was a movie about talking sheep trying to solve their shepherd's murder, and I was enthralled. I leaned over to my wife and said, “I may be losing my mind, but I want to see that.”

​It’s the kind of movie that shouldn’t work – talking CGI animals in a live-action murder-mystery? It’s also a throwback to a different era of “Babe” and “Homeward Bound.

When was the last time you saw a talking animal live-action film, at least in wide release? I was shocked when I saw that critical reviews for it last week were very positive, but they did make me feel less guilty for being interested in such a film.  

After seeing it, I can confirm “The Sheep Detectives,” directed by Kyle Balda from a script by Craig Mazin, based on Leonie Swann’s novel, Three Bags Full, is charming as all get out.

The film opens with a loner of a sheep herder, played by Hugh Jackman, who doesn’t love people, but adores his herd and has given each of them names and reads to them nightly before bed. There’s Lily (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus), his favorite and the smartest of the herd, Mopple (voiced by Chris O’Dowd), the wise one who unlike the rest of the herd can’t forget the painful things the others are able to, and Sebastian (voiced by Bryan Cranston), the literal black sheep of the herd, who was saved by the shepherd from a painful life of fighting dogs at a carnival. These are the primary sheep, but there are other memorable ones voiced by Patrick Stewart, Regina Hall, Bella Ramsey, Rhys Darby and a brotherly duo both voiced by Brett Goldstein, who are essentially the Roy Kents of sheep.

The shepherd is murdered near the beginning of the movie, and the rest turns into an Agatha Christie whodunnit of sorts, in which the sheep are determined to help the bumbling local policeman, played terrifically by Nicholas Braun.

There is no shortage of potential killers in the town. There is the local butcher (Conleth Hill), the local priest (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith), who the shepherd recently had a tense moment with, the jealous innkeeper (Hong Chau), the rival shepherd (Tosin Cole) and the long-lost daughter (Molly Gordon), who the shepherd gave up for adoption after the mother died during childbirth.

There is also a reporter (Nicholas Galitzine) in town with car trouble who becomes intrigued by the case and the shepherd’s lawyer (Emma Thompson).

The live-action cast, particularly Braun and Gordon, is really good, but let’s face it – the sheep are the real stars and the voice acting is superb. I can’t properly say how perfect O’Dowd’s Irish accent works for Mopple. It’s simply sublime. Goldstein’s smaller role as the twin rams who just want to bash something hits the nail on the head with ease. Cranston, whom I shockingly didn’t place as the voice of Sebastian during my viewing, worked perfectly for a loner who has seen and experienced things the rest of the herd couldn’t believe. Louis-Dreyfus’s performance as Lily was the heart of the film, and it has a ton of heart.

“The Sheep Detectives” is the best example of what this kind of film could be. It’s a family film, incredibly accessible to children, while also keeping adults enthralled – and not in the Pixar way where they may throw a couple of bones to the adults in the audience. It’s hilarious, it’s charming, it’s heartwarming and tear-jerking, and none of it in a way that doesn’t seem earned. I think it could easily be the “Babe” of its generation, though surprisingly (and some might not remember this), “Babe” was actually nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, something that won’t happen here. But it could be remembered as a shining example of how a movie featuring CGI talking animals doesn’t have to be a dumb joke.