It is no secret that I am a HUGE fan of the “whodunnit” genre. Having been revived by films such as Knives Out and Murder on the Orient Express, I could not be happier with the way things are going. We even have gotten it to another level with The Sheep Detectives, taking the genre to more of a family-friendly approach.
Based on Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann and adapted for the screen by Craig Mazin, Hugh Jackman plays George Hardy, a sheep farmer that lives alone and cares more for his flock than just about anything else in this world. Each morning he gets up to spend his days tending to them (giving each and every one of them a name), and as the sun goes down reads them stories from the mystery novels he owns. When he himself winds up dead by what the local townsfolk believe is natural causes, his flock believes otherwise and takes the case on themselves, helping their human counterparts solve it as well.
Originally, this was meant to be an animated feature, but given the current state of visual effects, I think doing this live-action does it more of a service. With a voice cast that includes Julia Louis-Dryfus, Patrick Stewart, Bella Ramsey, Brett Goldstein (as twin rams), Regina Hall, and more with humans like Emma Thompson, and Nichaolas Galitzine, this is packed with talent. The story itself has enough complexity to keep my attention all the way through but does not overcomplicate things that the kids will get lost in. There are a couple of moments that may be a bit too intense for the younger set, but overall, this is a good family film that is a nice departure from most of what has been thrown out there in the last few years.
With the summer movie season upon us, a movie like The Sheep Detectives is one that sets itself apart from all of the event movies that the younger kids may not care about. If things like the series of “The Hardy Boys,” “Nancy Drew,” and “Encyclopedia Brown” books are the things that introduced me to the detective genre and graduating me to the “Sherlock Holmes” books and so on, this is the type of film that can be used to reach a new audience that tends to rely more on visual arts than those of the written word. Take the family and have a great time!