Culture

Now Playing: ‘The Sheep Detectives’ is GOAT

By: Gordon Briggs
Posted on: Thursday, May 14, 2026

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I enjoy a good murder mystery.

I also enjoy family films that center on cute animals.

So it probably isn’t a surprise that I was so thoroughly charmed by The Sheep Detectives, a movie that deftly blends family-friendly animal adventure with the intrigue and mystery of a good whodunit. Think Knives Out meets Babe. It’s also one of my standout movies of 2026.

Based on the book Three Bags Full, the film follows a flock of sheep who must become amateur detectives after their beloved shepherd, George (Hugh Jackman), is murdered. What’s interesting is that, having listened to George read murder mysteries to them, the sheep, led by the resourceful Lily, investigate the crime, uncovering disturbing secrets about humans and mortality in the process.

On a basic level, the film works as a comedy. The sheep may be computer-generated effects, but voiced by a cast of familiar names (such as Bryan Cranston, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Patrick Stewart), the animals are portrayed as clever and often humorous three-dimensional characters. The comedy often comes from their unique perspective on human behavior.

For example, the sheep have a unique, slightly misunderstood comprehension of human concepts like God and the afterlife, often viewing the “Human God” with confusion. There’s a hilarious scene where the naive sheep tries to explain what God looks like by saying he is both “a shepherd and a lamb, and bread that humans eat on Sunday… and he damns things, as a beaver does.”

The sheep’s simultaneous cleverness and naivety is the source of much of the film’s charm. Not only must these sheep solve the murder of their shepherd, but they must also learn to leave the comfortable surroundings of the farm and to reconcile the fact that sometimes humans can be dishonest. Despite the murder-mystery premise, the focus is on the flock’s emotional journey, aiming to be touching rather than cynical.

Furthermore, I enjoyed both the human and sheep characters. Part of the fun is seeing the sheep help a somewhat bumbling local police officer find the right clues and eventually solve the case. However, the scenes without the sheep also work.

For instance, not only is Hugh Jackman smart and kind-hearted as the Irish shepherd, but other characters, like Emma Thompson’s no-nonsense, sharp-tongued city lawyer, make the film fun to watch for grown-ups as well as youngsters.

Best of all, The Sheep Detectives grapples with serious philosophical questions about mortality. A less adventurous film could’ve easily rested on the cuteness of the farm animals and the pastoral setting’s underlying sweetness. Thankfully, this movie is more ambitious than that and uses the sheep’s perspective to explore human themes like mortality and community (flock).

For instance, by trying to explain the shepherd’s murder, the younger sheep must grapple with what it means to die. That’s what I love about this movie: it skillfully contrasts the innocent, pastoral view of the sheep with the darkness of the human world.

I don’t know how most audiences will feel about this one, but in a time when most movies feel like copies of a dozen other films we’ve seen before, I applaud The Sheep Detectives‘ charm, intelligence, and originality. ★★★★