Film review: ‘THE SHEEP DETECTIVES’ by Nick Gardener from ‘Built For Speed’
The Sheep Detectives is a very sweet, charming, family friendly mix of whodunit and anthropomorphised (CGI) animal comedy. Evoking Babe, Knives Out and Toy Story it would be hard for this film to go wrong and it doesn’t.
Set in an idealised version of the English countryside in the village of Denbrook, the film stars Hugh Jackman as benevolent sheep farmer George Hardy. While regarded by locals as a grumpy loner, George loves his surrogate sheep family, doting on them as if they’re his children and even reading them murder mysteries each evening. He only breeds them for their wool not for eatin’ and resists lucrative offers from a neighbouring farmer and the local butcher who want his flock. The sheep, who talk to each other, also worship George. When George is discovered dead one morning, it’s up to the sheep, led by Lilly (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) to help the town’s bumbling cop Tim (Nicholas Braun) uncover the murderer.
Director Kyle Balda (who previously directed the Minions films and began as an animator) and writer Craig Mazin have crafted a reasonably effective murder mystery that cleverly plays with the tropes of the genre. The film mainly operates, though, as a satire of conformity and prejudice and a celebration of innocent courage and community.
There’s some fine work from the actors voicing the CGI sheep. Julia brings a naive charm to Lilly, Bryan Cranston gives outcast ram Sebastian a convincing mix of bitterness and nobility while Tommy Birchall makes the rejected winter lamb George a lovable character. There are also delightful contributions from Chris O’Dowd, Regina Hall, Rhys Darby and none other than Sir Patrick Stewart. Among the humans, Braun is enjoyably goofy as cop Tim and Emma Thompson amusingly acerbic as blow-in lawyer Lydia Harbottole.
The film is mostly good-natured fun but it does have darker moments as the sheep learn about the reality of death and the lot in life for most of their species.
Not all the humour lands, there are a couple of flat spots and there’s not quite enough zany animal behaviour to completely entrance the kids but this likeable, well-made and at times witty crime comedy and animal extravaganza will please just about any audience.
Nick’s rating: ***1/2
Genre: Drama/ Comedy.
Classification: PG.
Director(s): Kyle Balda.
Release date: 27th Apr 2026.
Running time: 109 mins.
Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm on 88.3 Southern FM and The Wednesday Motley Crew at 7:30am on 94.1 WBC FM.