The cleverest moment in The Sheep Detectives occurs before the movie even properly begins. Prior to the opening credits, the famous MGM lion makes his appearance, but instead of his usual roar he lets out a plaintive “BAA.” Unfortunately, the rest of this family-friendly murder mystery never matches that level of wit. Despite the (brief) presence of Hugh Jackman and a top-flight voice cast, the movie never achieves the level of magic for which it’s desperately straining.
Based on the 2005 bestselling German novel Three Bags Full, the film features Jackman as George, perhaps the most jacked shepherd in history, who lovingly tends to his large flock of sheep that he’s determined never to kill. He’s so fond of them, in fact, that he offers them daily readings of his favorite genre, murder mysteries, for which they sit attentively as if they understand every word.
The Sheep Detectives
The Bottom Line
Woolly-headed.
Release Friday, May 8Cast: Hugh Jackman, Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine, Molly Gordon, Tosin Cole, Hong Chau, Emma Thompson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Chris O’Dowd, Regina Hall, Patrick Stewart, Bella Ramsey, Brett Goldstein, Rhys DarbyDirector: Kyle BaldaScreenwriter: Craig Mazin Rated PG, 1 hour 49 minutes
This being a family film, they actually do, of course, replacing their “baas” with human speech whenever talking to themselves. And, as scripted by Craig Mazin (The Last of Us), their dialogue is both mildly amusing and intriguingly philosophical, if at times misguided. They don’t believe that sheep die, for instance, but rather that they simply become clouds.
When George shows up dead in the pasture one day, his hands mysteriously coated in blue and green dye, the sheep are naturally grief-stricken. Especially Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), whom George has described as the smartest in his flock and for whom he cared the most. Suspecting that the bumbling local policeman, Officer Tim Derry (Nicholas Braun, accentuating the goofiness), is wrong in his conclusion that George simply died of a heart attack, Lily rallies her fellow sheep to help solve the murder.
There is no shortage of suspects, including Rebecca (Molly Gordon), George’s daugher who has suddenly shown up after many years; Beth (Hong Chau), the local innkeeper, with whom George seems to have had a past; Caleb (Tosin Cole), the shepherd next door, for whom George bore an animosity; Reverend Hillcoate (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith), to whose church George made a large, mysterious donation shortly before he died; and Ham (Conleth Hill), the town butcher, who’s long had his eye on George’s sheep.
Other human characters figuring in the proceedings are Elliot (Nicholas Galitzine), a news reporter who has shown up to cover the local arts festival but sticks around after George’s death; and Lydia (Emma Thompson, enjoying herself), George’s lawyer, who shows up with George’s recently revised will.
So far, so Agatha Christie, although that grande dame of whodunits stuck to human crime-solvers. She certainly never had one of her characters tell another “No eating the crime scene,” as one sheep advises here. As the intrepid animals pursue the case, gently nudging the hapless Officer Derry to follow their lead, their very disparate personalities are showcased along the way — from the soulful Mopple (Chris Dowd, whose Irish-accented voice is exactly what you’d expect a sheep to sound like) to the ever-curious Zora (Bella Ramsey) to the proudly fluffy Cloud (Regina Hall) to the rambunctious Ronnie and Reggie (both voiced by Brett Goldstein, utilizing his Ted Lasso growl) to the elder statesman (er, states-sheep?) Sir Ritchfield (Patrick Stewart, appropriately regal) to the loner ram, Sebastian (Bryan Cranston, sounding authoritative), who has a tragic backstory.
That backstory might prove disturbing for younger tykes, as will a vicious battle between Sebastian and two menacing dogs, no doubt accounting for the film’s PG rating. And despite the plethora of talent both in front of and behind the camera (Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, both currently riding very high with Project Hail Mary, are among executive producers, while director Kyle Balda previously helmed Minions and Despicable Me 3), The Sheep Detectives never really gels, feeling too dark for younger kids and too silly for discerning adults.
It doesn’t help that the sheep characters, played up for maximum adorability, are portrayed via photorealistic animation that looks incredibly realistic, and yet not. Sheep are not the most expressive of animals and aren’t particularly interesting to look at. The estimable and personality-filled voice talents provide partial compensation, but much as with Disney’s “live-action” Lion King remake and countless others, the depiction of animals here feels more creepy than cute.
Jackman, who, rest assured, shows up periodically in the film even after his character is found dead, proves so charismatic that it’s easy to understand why George’s flock would devote themselves to finding his murderer. What’s less easy to understand is why the rest of us should really care.
‘The Sheep Detectives’ Review: Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson and a Top-Flight Voice Cast Can’t Make This Family-Friendly Mystery Matter NYT News Today.
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