I was raised on a farm in England, and I will be among the first to admit that little lambs have more than their fair share of charm. They’re adorable, sweet, and bounce as if they were on springs. It simply makes you feel good to see them. To see a flock of CGI sheep that are as charming, but have the ability to talk and to solve mysteries is an opportunity I would not pass up, so I just had to see The Sheep Detectives.
It’s the story of George, a solitary shepherd, played by Hugh Jackman, and his flock of sheep. He loves them, and the feeling is mutual. He raises them only for their wool, and looks after all their needs, feeding them, grooming them and even inventing medicines for their comfort. But the thing both he and the flock like the most is that he reads to them every night from one of his vast collection of mystery novels . He spins the yarn (pun intended) for the flock and they listen intently. George wants to think they are following along, but… they’re just sheep… aren’t they? As he closes the book one night just before the big reveal of who the killer is, the flock baa with dismay and we realize that yes, they were listening and trying to figure out whodunnit.
That’s the set up, but as anyone who has lived in a small English village (or has watched their share of television sleuths) knows, that’s just when things get weird. George is killed that night, and the flock decide they must solve his murder and bring justice to their beloved shepherd. The village is filled with painfully stereotypical characters including a bumbling police officer, the requisite Vicar, nosey neighbors and yes, the action takes place during the Village Fete. Lilly, the smartest of the sheep, sets out with Mopple, the sage amongst the flock, to try to help the wildly incompetent policeman solve the murder, using their vast knowledge gained from the mysteries that George has read to them over the years. Let’s just say that it’s a good thing sheep are very patient…
The cast is a wonderful ensemble of live action and voice actors. Emma Thompson plays George’s attorney, Molly Gordon plays Rebecca Hampstead and Nicholas Galitzine is Elliot Matthews, the strangers in town. Lilly is voiced by Julia Louise Dreyfus, Mopple is voiced by Chris O’Dowd. The rest of the flock are given irresistible personalities by great actors such as Patrick Stewart (Sir Richfield), Brett Goldstein (twin rams Reggie and Ronnie), Bryan Cranston (Sebastian) and Regina Hall (Cloud) to name a few.
Producer Eric Fellner (Atonement and The Theory of Everything) wanted Hugh Jackman who immediately said “Yes” after being told its “Knives Out Meets Babe”.
Composer Christophe Beck (Frozen and Ant-Man) crafted a heartfelt original score that is also grounded and intentionally homemade, just like the English countryside. He created signature themes for the main characters – humans and sheep. He succeeds! The themes are signposts to help audiences make associations between the music and the onscreen story, building emotional connections to the characters.
As the story progresses, we get to know all the sheep and the villagers, and the plot is genuinely clever. It has a lot of fun playing with the clichés of whodunnits in a small farming community where everybody knows everyone else and they all have motives. Yet perhaps the most appealing part of the film is the gentle way it handles topics such as grief, loss, exclusion and fear. It’s heart-warming and not overly heavy-handed. The Sheep Detectives works well for all ages, dishing out sly humor, outright slapstick, life lessons and great woolly dollops of charm.