The “cozy mystery” genre may not get any cozier than The Sheep Detectives (now on Prime Video), a deeply silly (but also surprisingly serious) kid-friendly story about lambs and rams and ewes sussing out who killed their beloved shepherd. That feels like a spoiler, considering megastar headliner Hugh Jackman plays said shepherd, but there’s no writing around that; the real stars here are the Babe-like talking CGI sheep who are smarter than their human pals realize. Sure, solving a murder is a step beyond Encyclopedia Brown, but the film’s discussions about death are handled delicately, and younger audiences have all that downy — read: cozy! — wool functioning as a squooshy cushion for the film’s dark-ish fringe.
The Gist: Some people talk to their plants, others meow at their cats. But George Hardy (Jackman) reads to his sheep. Murder mysteries, to be exact. They gather around to listen every night, but he doesn’t believe they comprehend a single word of it. He’s wrong, though. In this reality, humans hear baa baa bleattt but we hear the sheep speaking English, revealing an intelligence heretofore unrealized in barnyard creatures. That includes sincere love and affection, for George and for each other — save for any sheep born in winter rather than the usual spring, e.g. that little nameless lamb over yonder, which struck me as a pending third-act Life Lesson about prejudice.
Among the sheep are de-facto leader Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who her peers deem “the smartest sheep ever,” and her lightly goofy pal Mopple (Chris O’Dowd), who find George dead in the meadow one awful morning. Who could’ve done such a terrible thing? Well, George may be beloved in the pasture, but in the nearby pastoral town of Denbrook, where he’s known as “Grumpypants,” there are plenty of suspects. Another shepherd, Caleb (Tosin Cole), has been leasing acreage from him. The innkeeper, Beth (Hong Chau), seems to be a jilted lover, upset to see George mailing flowery letters to a woman. Before he died, George marched into the church and dropped a roll of cash in Reverend Hillcoate’s (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith) collection plate, saying he’s repaying a debt. The local butcher, Ham (Conleth Hill), would really like to take his cleaver to all those delicious sheep — and he ain’t fond of vegetarians like George, either. It’s up to dopey police cop Tim Derry (Nicholas Braun) to sort through the evidence and lead the investigation, which of course is his first murder case ever.
You will not be surprised in the least to learn that Officer Tim bumbles through with a silent assist from Lily, Mopple, and outcast (and literal black sheep) Sebastian (Bryan Cranston), who use their knowledge from all those murder-mystery storytimes to turn up clues and suspects. Complicating things is the arrival of George’s daughter Rebecca (Molly Gordon), who he’d given up for adoption as a baby, and who happened to be visiting for their first-ever reunion. Is she a suspect? Also turning up is George’s lawyer Lydia Harbottle, who has the will in her briefcase, and some compelling information, and who’s played by Emma Thompson in an upsettingly brief bit part that doesn’t capitalize upon her vast capacity for wit. Good thing the sheep are charming as the dickens.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of? This is Shaun the Sheep meets Babe meets, I guess, Knives Out — or maybe The Thursday Murder Club is more apt for the “cozy” vibe.
Performance Worth Watching: One more grind of the ax for glaring lack of more Thompson in this outing, but it is enjoyable watching Braun play a naive doof who summons his druthers and eventually rises to the occasion. He has an actual arc and even shows a little Benoit Blanc/Hercule Poirot moxie at the end.
Sex And Skin: None.
Our Take: The fact that the reading of murder mysteries is a plot component of a murder mystery broadens The Sheep Detectives twofold: The self-awareness allows it to poke fun at the genre and its cliches, and it provides light comedy for adult audiences. As Lily routinely explains the machinations of such stories, the movie functions as an introductory primer for young audiences who likely have never consumed a whodunit before. This one is packaged in a mostly upbeat, uptempo narrative with some nifty visual effects and colorful characters/performances — director Kyle Balda makes sure the movie never spirals into the obnoxiousness of lazier children’s entertainment — albeit with a hint of darkness to keenly counterbalance what could’ve been typical anthropomorphic hijinks.
Of course, the film also addresses death in a manner that’s a shade darker than most kid fare, but is ultimately to the film’s benefit. It never feels like empty entertainment. One of the more odd elements of this story is the sheeps’ ability to essentially shake their heads and forget bad memories, e.g., the sudden and untimely passing of their dear shepherd. But the film, in between episodes laden with slapstick, sheep shenanigans, and other sillinesses, addresses the value of remembering happy times and the need to acknowledge death and grief, thus rendering meaningful character arcs for Lily, Mopple, and their fellow flocksters. Perhaps a robust conversation with children will follow, or maybe they’ll just giggle at the talking sheep for a couple hours. Either way, it’s time well spent.
Our Call: Yeah, The Sheep Detectives is ultimately about death. But it’s also about life! And entertaining kids with clever anthropomorphic animals! STREAM IT.
John Serba is a freelance film critic from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Werner Herzog hugged him once.