Details from IMDB:
The Sheep Detectives
Every night, a shepherd reads aloud a murder mystery, pretending his sheep can understand. When he is found dead, the sheep realize at once that it was a murder and think they know everything about how to go about solving it.
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Initial Thoughts:
I hadn’t seen a movie with talking animals in a while, I’ll admit it’s not something I’d normally see, as it usually means a kids’ movie. I have nothing against kids’ movies; they are just not often something I’m interested in. This film had Hugh Jackman, who I always enjoy, plus lots of other great voice actors and hearing a glowing review from Rebecca, from Geekshow and TV Show in Space, my wife and I decided to see it this morning (to avoid a lot of kids).
Main Points:
I have always loved animals. I’m a cat lover more than any other, but I have always had a soft spot for sheep. I’ve never seen a sheep in real life act as friendly as any of these, but this is a movie after all, and I’m already off topic. I loved this movie; it is a murder-mystery, but done from the unique perspective of sheep trying to solve it. I loved everything about Hugh Jackman’s character, George. I have always felt you can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat animals. George loves his flock, and they love him, so when he’s killed (this is in the trailer, not a spoiler!), the smartest of the sheep, Lily, played wonderfully by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, sets out with the help of her fellow sheep to solve the crime.
The sheep are all CGI, which makes it even more incredible how much they will pull on your heartstrings. If you truly love animals, as I do with our cats Lucy and Eleanor, you’ll really understand the connection that animals have with emotional intelligence and connect deeply with their owner (in this case, shepard) is beyond a doubt true. I liked how one comment was this is like a PG version of “Knives Out,” which is part of the movie, but it’s really much more. The films deal really well with the loss of a loved one, how important memories are, and how it’s wrong to eat meat. There are also some wonderful moments that show that death isn’t really the end, as long as you remember someone/a pet, they are never truly gone. Aside from all this, everyone does a great job, in particular, Sir Patrick Stewart, Bryan Cranston, Chris O’Dowd, Brett Goldstein, and, of course, Julia Louis-Dreyfus are all wonderful as sheep. The murder/mystery is great to watch, and there is even a good twist at the end. I loved small moments like how George reads to his sheep, looks after the aging ones and is always clear that all of them belong, most especially the winter sheep (you’ll have to watch to see that explained.) I was sad to see this movie end and found the nearly two-hour runtime flew by, not something I say a lot.
Final Thoughts:
This is the kind of movie we need now, one with hope and joy, one that shows the beauty and simplicity of love, and that you need to care for animals/livestock around you, not just see them as a source of meat and profit. The message to not judge people so quickly, and jump to conclusions, is also an important one along with the fact that a simpler life in a small town can be as full as life as anyone needs is good too. I give this a very strong 8.5 out of 10, I could have done without someo of the obvious appeal to kids moments and I would have loved a little more runntime with the sheep but overall all of this is balanced very well. Do yourself a favour and see this in theatres, just be prepared to be hit in the feels hard at least 3 times, and for kids to be there. I would say this is not for young kids, there is a little bit of violence and some coarse language, so ages 11+ (or less, you know your own kid best). I hope this wins some awards, it deserves it.