The Sheep Detectives Review: Swoon-Worthy Piece of Cinema!

For those of us who grew up during a time where cinema was one of our only forms of media, kids movies dominated our Friday nights, after school hang outs, and Sunday afternoons. Whether these were animated films or family friendly live actions, oftentimes our first introduction to cinema was through children’s entertainment filled with fantastic worlds, talking animals, and rambunctious characters.

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As we grew older, many of us matured in our cinematic tastes, experiencing raunchy comedies, heartfelt dramas, and even terrifying horror films. Walking out of the cinema now often gives us an electric feeling with mixed emotions through the lens of adult cinema. More often than not, we aren’t necessarily left with the warm and fuzzy feeling we felt watching kids movies back in the day. Sometimes, it is important to go back to the roots and discover what drew us to cinema in the first place.

The Sheep Detectives directed by Kyle Balda (‘Minions’ films fame) and written by Craig Mazin, follows a group of talking sheep that try to solve a murder in their local town. What sounds like a premise designed to entertain children happens to be one of the best live-action “kids” movies in recent memory. Where fast-paced animation and braindead yellow cylinders seem to be keeping kids attentions on the screen, The Sheep Detectives is a perfectly paced comedic and swoon worthy piece of cinema that will dazzle audiences with its heart and revive our faith in the power of children’s entertainment.

George Hardy (Hugh Jackman) is a shepherd living on a large piece of open land in Denbrook with his flock of sheep as his company, and more importantly, his friends. He tends to them daily and reads detective novels to them nightly, basking in the simple joys of country life with the best companions. He keeps to himself never quite getting along with the rest of the townspeople. His flock of sheep love him dearly as he does them. However, when a murder occurs in the town, George’s flock of sheep put on their detective hats, using what they know from George’s novels, and try to solve the crime together.

The Sheep Detectives features a tremendous cast of talented and fun-loving actors who seem to be having just as much fun as their audience watching. Nicholas Braun is a standout playing Tim Derry, a foolish cop waiting for his chance to prove himself to the police squad and the townspeople by cracking the code to the murder.

Other notable cast members include Nicholas Galitzine, Molly Gordon, Emma Thompson, Hong Chau, and Tosin Cole, all possible suspects in the investigation. Where any mystery film often banks on its group of characters, The Sheep Detectives not only has fun with showcasing its characters and their possible involvement with the murder, but also gives each character a true human quality that feels realistic to the diversity of a local town.

As a critic whose favorite film of all time is Babe (1995), directed by Chris Noonan following a group of farm animals, The Sheep Detectives had a lot to live up to. However, a comparison is not needed as both films display their own set of themes and qualities that make them feel miles apart, besides their talking animal characteristic. The film’s script is penned beautifully to resemble the storyboard and charm of older children’s films that we millennials grew up watching.

The film never concerns itself with keeping the attention span of iPad kids today but instead slows down allowing them to hopefully immerse themselves in the comfort and heartfelt nature of its central story. It is almost impossible to not be smiling throughout, being charmed by the flock of sheep’s humor and the script’s focus on darker themes that children’s films today often stray away from.

That being said, The Sheep Detectives is a beautiful tale of the love and relationships we build with family and friends as it relates to the grief of dealing with the loss of them. Death and dealing with these complex emotions surrounding it seems to have disappeared from kids movies today, often having a scene where a character appears dead for a couple of frames only to rise up again to spare children from feeling upset for too long. This film presents its theme of grief and death early on and then continuously builds on its ideas throughout, allowing for a complete understanding of the process and the beauty and darkness it creates simultaneously.

The film also focuses on the idea of memory and how it is often the foundation for keeping loved ones who have passed on alive in our hearts. It displays how these empty spaces that are created through each passing of a family member or friend, can be replaced by the memories we share with them, making our hearts expand rather than grow smaller.

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The Sheep Detectives understands that forgetting darker moments may feel temporarily better, but remembering someone and the impact they had on us will always be stronger than living without the memory of them at all. As a result this movie has re-outlined the blueprint for children’s entertainment. When the world gets crazy and everything feels confusing, sometimes all we need to do is go back and progress forward through kids’ entertainment and remember the most simple yet valuable lessons.

‘The Sheep Detectives’ Rating – 4/5

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