A movie about talking sheep that investigate the murder of their beloved shepherd? Sounds like the kind of silly, cutesy family fare that I usually avoid like the plague. To my surprise, The Sheep Detectives is substantially more than that. In fact, I would go so far to say that it’s mature enough to keep adults invested, but also teaches a major life lesson about grief in a way that kids might understand. In short, don’t let the trailers pull the wool over your eyes, there’s a lot more to this movie than meets the eye.
Hugh Jackman stars as George Hardy, a shepherd beloved by his flock of sheep, but considered an angry curmudgeon by the residents of fictional Denbrook. Every night, George reads from his favorite mystery novels to the animals under his charge, treating them as if they were his own children. When George is suddenly found dead one morning, the sheep, who have been fed a nightly diet of murder mysteries, recognize that he has been killed and it’s up to them to solve the case. Can’t trust those pesky humans because they’re either guilty or incompetent like the town sheriff, played by Nicholas Braun. George had a surprisngly large group of enemies, and the arrival of his estranged daughter Rebecca (Molly Gordon) and an intrepid reporter (Nicholas Galitzine) only add to the list of suspects.
Sounds pretty harmless, right? Like the kind of thing a parent might put on to keep the kiddos distracted for a while? Well, not so fast. The Sheep Detectives is surprisingly pointed on the subject of death, and how the loss of a loved one can disorient a person’s entire world. The sheep, in particular Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who is the smartest of them all, have never known anything but George and the patch of grass where they live. Losing George sends them all adrift, with no comprehension of what is going on. In fact, the sheep have a defense mechanism when anything is too traumatic. They simply choose to forget the painful event, and *poof*, it’s gone. Think Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and wanting to erase the memory of someone who broke your heart, and the consequences of such an action. Yes, this movie is operating on that level…only with a lot more hoof.
The script by The Last of Us co-creator Craig Mazin doesn’t stop there, though. The investigation into George’s death is for Lily and her crew a means of distracting themselves from the harsh reality. As long as they are acting as if they are in the pages of a whodunnit, George is still with them. I think we’ve all felt this way at one point or another in our lives, refusing to face a harsh truth by engaging in something else, anything else.
So while The Sheep Detectives is more substantial than it appears in one respect, it’s seriously lacking in another. The actual mystery is pretty thin, with multiple red herrings introduced but not playing much of a role in the story. Because the sheep still need to rely on the shockingly unsuspecting humans to do most of the work, they sometimes feel like passengers in their own story. While I can appreciate that the film is more than just a goofy comedy, it also could’ve been a lot funnier. The sheep’s misunderstandings of the human world (their fraught attempts to cross the street, for instance) are worth a few laughs, at least.
To be honest, those human characters are pretty lame and pale by comparison to the colorful sheep protagonists. It’s not for a lack of star power in those roles, and they all are clearly having a good time, especially Braun who is eternally stuck playing the kind-hearted simpleton. But it’s Louis-Dreyfus who shines as the voice of Lily, the movie’s emotional heart. Bryan Cranston brings an authoritative, critical edge to the role of Sebastian, an Icelandic Leadersheep who has seen the dark side of humanity, offering a more cynical perspective than the others. Also, I really loved Chris O’Dowd as Mopple, the one sheep who refuses to forget the bad times, shouldering the burden of those sad memories for the rest of them.
Surprisingly thoughtful and charming, The Sheep Detectives is shear entertainment when so much all-ages content is forgettable. Since the best detectives never have just one mystery to solve, don’t be surprised if this unexpected winner becomes a franchise.
The Sheep Detectives is in theaters now.
