BLOOD, DEATH, MURDER! Well, it’s more likely poison was the method, but still, MURDER! The small country village of Denbrook is rocked by an unspeakable crime, and the only hope of solving the case. lays with a drove of detectives who cannot speak!
Vegetarian, animal lover, detective-novel enthusiast and shepherd, George Hardy (Hugh Jackman) is a peculiar sort. He loves his sheep, naming them all for their unique personalities. What’s more, they each love him back! The fluffy diva – Cloud (Regina Hall), the loner – Sebastian (Bryan Cranston), the smarter of the herd – Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), the smartest of the herd, and Wool-Eyes (Rhys Darby) – blinded by the wool covering his eyes. That’s just a few of the adorable flock to whom the shepherd reads another whodunit novel to every night.
But one morning, the sheep awaken to find their beloved master dead as a doornail! It was clearly under suspicious circumstances and now a killer is on the loose. The problem is, as much as he was adored by his sheep, there was no love lost between George and the HUMANS of Denbrook. Whether it be rival shepherd, Caleb (Tosin Cole), the shifty Reverend Hillcoate (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith), Ham (Conleth Hill) the aptly named butcher, or even Beth (Hong Chau), an innkeeper keeping secrets of her own. Solving this real-life mystery is going to be trouble for Tim Derry (Nicholas Braun) Denbrook‘s bumbling policeman. Luckily, he has a mob of fluffy deputies, ready to lend a hand, or rather a hoof.
The Sheep Detectives comes directed by Kyle Balda who makes his live action debut after much success with various ‘Illumination’ animated features, such as Minions (2015). Based on a German novel ‘Three Bags Full’ by Leonie Swann, the feature is adapted by quite the heavy hitter. Craig Mazin of ‘Chernobyl’ and ‘The Last of Us’ fame, known more for darker works, takes this high concept, a somewhat heavy source and achieves the impossible. Creating a murder mystery that the whole family can enjoy!
Really, I have to stress how impressive it is that The Sheep Detectives works as well as it does all things considered. The very idea of an “all ages” whodunit with talking sheep seems tricky to begin with! However, Mazin and Balda managed to take a story with some surprisingly darker themes to it, sanded the edges off and actually ended up with a solid crowd pleaser. The film itself is funny when it’s meant to be, heartfelt when it aims to be, and most importantly for a mystery story, is MYSTERIOUS.
Admittedly it isn’t impossible to see where the story is going before it gets there, but to the film’s credit, it kept me guessing! There are red herrings and false leads peppered throughout the movie, which succeed in being structurally and narratively cohesive. This is to say, these deceptions are not simply smokescreens, distracting you from the scent of the true crook and discards just as easily.
Rather, they enhance the film’s world, setting and characters the more our sheep-sleuths chip away at them. Does George‘s surprise last will and testament give any clues of relevance? Yes, several but maybe not in the way you might believe. You may think “AHA, I know where they’re going with this!”, then 5 minutes later have the rug pulled out from under you, while at the same time, be fascinated by where the film went with it. There are deadly serious detective movies which fail to deliver on a basic level the way that this kids film starring anthropomorphic sheep does!
While Mazin‘s talents shine in the script, I find that Balda‘s experience with animation works wonders in the film’s visuals and performances. The Sheep Detectives has quite an impressive cast, with the likes of Molly Gordon, Emma Thompson and Patrick Stewart adding to the film’s star power. Denbrook‘s bipedal residents ground the film in a believable way, while it’s four-legged and fluffy kind each have their own loveable personalities.
Although the CGI on display is not quite the technical benchmark of something like 2019’s live action ‘The Lion King’, the expressions and emotions in the faces of the film’s sheep far surpass that of other more “realistic” but stone-faced and soulless creations.
I found myself having an incredible time with The Sheep Detectives. The story sticks to its guns and tells a mature tale of murder and malice, but in a way which somehow kept the attention of the entire audience at my screening, both young and old alike. The Sheep Detectives is high in concept, high in enjoyment and highly recommend!
The Sheep Detectives is in cinemas May 7.