What is this about? I munched popcorn as The Sheep Detectives began. A voiceover made me wonder. But soon I was in. The Sheep Detectives is a winsome fairy tale-ish, morality play-ish. Overall, though? This flick is delightful and poignant family fun.
Pithy maxims abound as the sheep tell their story. Chiefly, how are they going to solve the murder of their beloved shepherd? One of my favorite moments was when the sheep meet a road. They aren’t crossing it until—well, you’ll just have to see what gets them finally across.
The very familiar Hugh Jackman serves as the beloved shepherd who, every evening, reads murder mysteries to his sheep. How else would they know how to solve a murder? Emma Thompson plays a rather sly lawyer.
An all-star cast imbues the sheep with recognizable voices. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is Lily, the smart Shetland sheep, while Patrick Stewart lends his voice to the elderly sheep, Sir Richfield. Director Kyle Balda is known for The Lorax and Despicable Me 3.
The nearly two-hour-long film is based on the 2005 novel Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann that was an international bestseller.
Quirky animal behavior discloses quirky human behavior. One theme suggests that however much we’d rather forget the things that pain us, we’d better remember them.
The theme of paying attention to the hard things emerges softly. After all, it’s a family film. But what worldview connection can we make here? This theme can invite good conversation about ways love emerges in hard times that might include death or dying.
There is no profanity or sexual innuendo of any shape or size. However, its themes of mortality and grief award the movie a PG-rating that recommends limiting the film to children who are 8 or older.
(Amazon MGM)
About the Author
Cynthia Beach authored the 2024 novel, The Surface of Water, and the writing book, Creative Juices for Writers. She co-directs Scriptoria Workshop with Newbery-winner Gary Schmidt. In 2025-6, she will serve as Artist in Residence in Dundee, Scotland.