“If there’s one secret to happiness in my life, it’s taking care of the kindest creatures on earth: sheep! I want you to meet my flock. I keep them well-fed, well-groomed, and each day I read out loud to them: mysteries, whodunnits. I like to pretend that they follow along, but they’re only sheep” (The Sheep Detectives).
The Sheep Detectives has been in the movies theatres for two weeks now, and has had it’s audiences leaving with laughter on their faces, and tears in their eyes.
What we all thought to be a fun, little murder mystery whodunnit, solved by sheep, of course, turned out to be so much more. With it’s leading actors as Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson, Nicholas Braun, and Nicholas Galitzine, The Sheep Detectives screenplay clearly convinced some A-listers to join on. That’s not even to mention the cast who voice the all-important sheep, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Brett Goldstein, and Sir Patrick Stewart. Truly, this movie has such a star-studded cast that when you’re watching it you’re also thinking, “wait, I know that voice!”
The best way to compare The Sheep Detectives is imagining a movie where Babe meets Knives Out—it’s a real life and animated murder mystery that is solved by a flock of sheep. Rotten Tomatoes writes, “In this witty, new breed of mystery George (Hugh Jackman) is a shepherd who reads detective novels to his beloved sheep every night, assuming they can’t possibly understand. But when a mysterious incident disrupts life on the farm, the sheep realize they must become the detectives. As they follow the clues and investigate human suspects, they prove that even sheep can be brilliant crime-solvers”.
With a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes, The Sheep Detectives is more than a delightful family film—it turns a funny murder mystery into lessons of life, and the things we have to overcome.
*The rest of this article will contain spoilers for The Sheep Detectives*
A BaaaaaAAAD MURDER
When George Hardy, resident and shepherd of Denbrook, is murdered, the town is sent into a frenzy. George has always been a peaceful man, with no known enemies and few friends. His family is his flock. That includes his sheep Lily, Mopple, Sir Ritchfield, Sebastian, Cloud, and so many more. While George may not think that they can understand him, his flock absolutely does. Reading a murder mystery novel to his sheep every night transforms their imaginations, and when George is murdered, his flock take the role of the detective.
Sheep are more complex than we think. They’re actually pretty similar to humans. When things are hard, sometimes we chose to forget about our pain so we don’t have to experience grief. Well, sheep do the same thing. The Sheep Detectives creates a threateningly cute detail explaining that sheep can forget whatever they want to. Within three seconds, they can close their eyes and open them again with no recollection of what bade them. Seeing this in the movie legitimately had me looking up if sheep can do this for real . . . hint: they can’t.
Without a second thought, the sheep can chose to forget about George if their pain feels too real. Behind fairytales and innocence can lie grief so hard to bare that it’s thrown away entirely, even by a sheep. Humans aren’t so different. What lays beyond this seemingly fun whodunnit turns out to be a representation of loss and love, pressed together in the juxtapositional image of a sheep holding a magnifying glass in it’s hooves. It sounds precious, and it is, but there are layers.
THE TALES OF A WINTER LAMB
The acting in this film is delicate, just like the story. What the actors convey to us audiences is the hilarity and absurdity of sheep trying to solve a real world mystery. Behind that mystery, though, is an unraveling story of a winter lamb. Sheep born in the winter are not accepted by the flock—they become a dejected sheep who has to pave their own path. Without shepherds like George, they don’t last long unless it’s with a potent grudge, stubbornness, and a chip embedded in those fluffy, matted shoulders.
Sebastian is a winter sheep. As an outcast from the flock, George sees him as something special, but Lily and the others can only tolerate his pessimistic attitude. It was only his death that prompted Lily to realize that their world as sheep can be just as complicated as the human world. Sebastian protecting his flock through his death not only opened eyes for Lily, but for us as well. I can guarantee that walking into The Sheep Detectives, none of considered the story would take a route that delved into the dark world of sheep trafficking. And with watering eyes, many of us had to watch Sebastian die and remember, like Lily, that unfairness and cruelty doesn’t go away just because you wish it.
Every hero, even a sheep, needs a moment where your back is against the wall and winning feels impossible. In those times, though, we remember what keeps us moving, and how to do right by those we love. To save her family, Lily creates a picture so impossible to ignore that even Police Officer Tim Derry (Nicholas Braun) has to open his eyes and solve this murder.
A HEARD OF WHIMSY
The Sheep Detectives, isn’t just a movie about murder. It’s about finding your family, or in better words, your flock. Combine it all, and The Sheep Detectives really does have it all. Journey of self-discovery? Check. Humor that works for children and adults? Check. Found Family? Check. And of course, silliness that makes us smile? Oh, yes. It’s all there.
All seriousness and analysis aside, The Sheep Detectives was an sincerely sweet movie that made me laugh out loud and want to head to the countryside to become a shepherd. The storyline moves fast without being overwhelming, it’s funny in a way that everyone can enjoy, and it will shockingly tug at your heartstrings in such surprising twists and turns. For all the unexpected amount of seriousness in the movie, there is just as much, if not more, laughter.
This author highly recommend that you go experience this movie in the theatre with a friend, a family member, or just yourself. It’s a really well-done mystery too, so you can try to solve it before movie ends and give yourself bragging rights.
Like the complexity of humans and the things we go through, The Sheep Detectives can make you cry and laugh in a span of minutes, and it’s worth the watch.
The Sheep Detectives is currently playing in movie theatres near you! Baaaa!
