The Sheep Detectives Review: Hugh Jackman Leads a Clever Family Mystery

Alexandria, VA – Just when you thought it wasn’t safe to go back into the movie theaters as a family, along comes a new genre of PG film release: Farm Murder Mystery Thriller. Yes, you actually should think Babe meets Knives Out best describes the story.

The Sheep Detectives, starring the greatest showman, Hugh Jackman, delivers something for everyone – young and older. Spoiler alert: we don’t get a huge amount of Hugh Jackman. He plays a shepherd guarding his beloved flock without a smart piglet teamed up with judgmental sheep dogs or Daniel Craig’s sleuthing replete with an abysmal southern accent. (Although, don’t dare be a black sheep Capricorn.) Rather, Jackman amuses the rams and ewes baaaaahhhhh reading murder mysteries aloud as bedtime stories, all the while presuming they aren’t listening to his reading with any comprehension.

Based upon the 2005 novel Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann, The Sheep Detectives is directed by Kyle Baldwin and written by Craig Mason who crafts a clever, fanciful yet similarly philosophical screenplay that does the book justice. When single sheepherder George (Jackman) turns up dead outside his caravan (an Airstream trailer) one morning, the sheep resolve to apply their most persistent detective to the problem.

Lily, comparable to the more aptly named Miss Maple in the book, and voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, takes charge of the investigation. Applying the investigative tenets of every murder mystery ever written, Lily herds the mostly clueless other sheep to deduce means, motive, and opportunity in a desperate and comical endeavor to find the killer.

Complemented by the all-star notable voice talents of Sir Patrick Stewart, Bryan Cranston, Regina Hall, Brett Goldstein (Roy Kent in Ted Lasso), and Bella Ramsey (Ellie in The Last of Us), the unassuming story has a cast presenting some substantive acting chops: Dame Emma Thompson as the perfunctory probate barrister, Nicholas Braun (thrice Emmy-nominated supporting actor in Succession) as the bungling beat cop, and Hong Chau (The Menu, Wuthering Heights) as the beleaguered innkeeper eternally in love with Jackman – that is, George. Chau manages to turn every small supporting casting gig into the scene stealing of the cute kid or the adorable puppy.

Jackman and the savvy supporting cast effectively interacted with what were sometimes human-animated puppets with stuffed animal stand-ins. Filming used experienced puppeteers (the team from Broadway’s War Horse), animation, and CGI visual effects. Not AI.

Make no mistake assuming this is Nickelodeon fare filmmaking. The theater was filled with adults. They laughed out loud while sheepishly crying discretely now and then – even applauding at the end. My only complaint was not enough Jackman. Too little and too late flashbacks with him, IMHO!

The Sheep Detectives is what a world at war needs now.  Love, sheep love… providing us with great big smiles and lots of laughter!

At Z MovieZ gives The Sheep Detectives nine stripes. (Hugh Jackman’s a terrible thing to waste.) The fleece flick is rated 96% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The Sheep Detectives will be in theaters at least through mid-June with an Amazon drop to follow. Themes of death and dying as well as discrimination are baaaaaantered throughout with a few fighting scenes between animals, giving it the PG rating.