Kyle Balda

Sheep Detectives is spring’s most welcome surprise! Hugh Jackman’s live-action whodunit is a family-friendly, comedic adaptation of Leonie Swann’s best-selling 2005 German novel Three Bags Full. The opening credits deliver the first hint of delight – as a plaintive barnyard “Baaa” replaces the traditional roar of the MGM lion.
Set in rural England, the story begins with George Hardy (Jackman), a gentle shepherd who not only feeds, shears and tends to his wooly flock but also reads mystery novels aloud to them at bedtime, unaware that they’re actually listening. Then – egad! – late one night, George is murdered.

The family-friendly whodunit The Sheep Detectives is no mere Sherlock Hooves. This clever yarn about sheep who nose into their shepherd’s death becomes a surprisingly tender meditation on grief and how we keep memories of loved ones alive. While its mystery isn’t as knotty as one of Agatha Christie’s (or Rian Johnson’s, for that matter), The Sheep Detectives weaves a warm spell. With its amiable humor, an appropriate comeuppance, and well-earned teary moments, it’s a shear delight.