The Sheep Detectives is one of those silly films that I feel the world needs right now and whilst everyone was going to see The Super Mario Galaxy Movie or The Devil Wears Prada 2, I was sat in a quiet cinema on a Sunday morning wanting something that wouldnt change the world but would make you forget for 110 minutes. The film stars Hugh Jackman as George Hardy and a great cast list of voice actors including Bryan Cranston, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Chris O’Dowd, Regina Hall, Patrick Stewart, Brett Goldstein (twice) and Bella Ramsey. When George is found dead, the police want to write it off as a heart attack but the sheep decide to use the skills they have acquired from benign read detective novels by George to discover whodunnit. As well as the murder there is the wannabe journalist Elliot, George’s daughter Rebecca (Molly Gordon), the butcher Ham (Conleth Hill), the neighbor Caleb (Tosin Cole) and a host of other characters.
The film does play out like its trying to break the fourth wall, using all the known cliches to try and throw us off the scent even though we know that they are red herrings because we are told them at every opportunity and yet despite this fourth wall breaking, I found that it played into the vibe of the film perfectly.
Hugh Jackman is quite good despite being killed off relatively quickly and then popping up again every so often in flashbacks. It isn't the best performance from Jackman but given that he mainly interacts with CGI talking sheep, I think he does quite well. It’s hard to dislike Jackman because he comes across so likeable and as George he only seems to care about one thing and that is his sheep. Emma Thompson is in this as Lydia Harbottle, the lawyer who has such disdain for Officer Derry. The character is so unlikable and yet because it's Emma Thompson she still manages to come across with a weird amount of charm. Nicholas Braun is good as Tim Derry who seems to be the only police officer in this tiny little village and manages to solve the case in spite of himself. He is helped at pretty much every stage and despite being completely out of his depth, I still found myself liking his character. Nicholas Galitzine is good as Elliot but it was a little bit obvious that he would have something to do with it because he stood out like a sore thumb because he basically looks like he stepped out of a YA story.
It probably was just to add something bright to proceedings but there are a lot of neon signs in pretty much every shot of the film. It’s never explained why but when the local butchers has a neon sign then it is worth noticing. Another thing that has to be commented on are the sheep. They manage to get around the fact that they can't pick things up or interact with the humans but they still manage to help move the story along and they all have their own personalities and are the main reason why the film works as well as it does.
There is a lovely idea that sheep don't die but become clouds and there is also a running thread that one of the lambs is an outcast because they are a winter baby and they are considered less than compared to the spring lambs. This is the closest that the film gets towards melodrama but manages to show restraint in this area. Overall The Sheep Detectives is an enjoyable film but not quite on the same level as The Magic Faraway Tree. That came across as magical and yet this doesn't quite go as silly as the trailer seemed to suggest that it might. I still think that the film is a good family film but it might get lost in the shuffle especially when we have just had the Super Mario movie out and we have a Minions movie coming out. I think that this is going to be something that people might watch when it comes out on streaming.
A perfectly fine and fun family film.
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