I’ll be honest, when I saw the trailers for The Sheep Detectives, I wasn’t really sold. I think the marketing may have leaned a little too far into the silliness of the situation, and I felt that this movie probably wasn’t for me. But it’s been out on Prime for a few weeks now, and I figured, why not? I’m happy to say that I ate my words on this one, as The Sheep Detectives is fantastic.
Hugh Jackman kind of stars as George Hardy, a sheep herder in the English countryside who more or less keeps to himself but has developed a strong emotional connection to his flock of sheep. Not only has he named them all, but every night, he reads to them, with a particular favouritism given towards murder mystery novels. One day, however, George is found dead by his trailer, and the only police officer (Succession’s Nicholas Braun) in town believes that nothing is suspicious about the death. But the sheep have their own agenda. As it turns out, the sheep can communicate with one another and have been listening to George’s stories all this time. Armed with their very limited understanding of the world, having spent their whole lives in George’s meadow, and the tropes of murder mystery novels, the flock, led by Lily (Julia-Louise Dryfus) and Mopple (Chris O’Dowd), set out to confirm whether George was indeed murdered or not, and if so, why.
Of course, they can’t do everything themselves, as they can’t communicate with humans, so they do their best to try and get Officer Derry to see that there’s something more going on with George’s death. Helping Derry is Elliot Matthews (Master of the Universe’s Nicholas Galitzine), an up-and-coming journalist sent to the English countryside to cover a festival, while a village full of residents (and visitors!) make up the list of suspects.
Now, if I were to tell you that the movie with the talking CGI sheep (and they’re very well realized sheep, I must say) would be the most existential film of the year so far, you’d probably say I was crazy. But The Sheep Detectives reminded me a lot of Pixar’s Soul, as it was a film that was more than just a murder mystery. Themes and concepts such as death, what happens after, human behaviour, the meaning of life, and so on, are prevalent throughout the film. This is a surprisingly heavy movie, and the movie doesn’t shy away from leaning into these heavier topics. And the film allows these themes to breathe, not undercutting them with a joke. But the movie also has humour at the perfect spots, making sure the whole experience isn’t just completely dour. It’s charming, I think, would be the best word for it.
The Sheep Detectives is a great movie that can serve as a gateway to murder mysteries for younger viewers, while also diving far deeper than you’d imagine with its subject matter. Despite featuring talking animals, you’re hooked in both the mystery and the well-being of the sheep. You know you have a good cast when you’re this invested in talking CGI sheep. I had a great time watching it and would recommend you do the same!
