On the rolling green fields of the English countryside, a flock of woolly sheep becomes an unlikely band of detectives, while navigating the follies of growing up and stepping beyond the comfort of home.
The starring flock in “The Sheep Detectives” — featuring the voices of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston and Chris O’Dowd — leads audiences on a quirky, humorous adventure, blending a cozy whodunit with coming-of-age storytelling and gentle lessons about growing up.
Solitude is the norm on the rural farm, where the sheep live in a comfortable rhythm. By day, the flock grazes across lush acres, and each night they gather outside their charming-yet-gritty shepherd George’s (Hugh Jackman) airstream as he reads them murder mysteries — unaware that his audience of sheep is listening and trying to solve each crime.
When anything disturbs the flock’s peaceful routine, they rely on their unusual knack for forgetting. The sheep close their eyes for a moment, choose to let go, and reopen them in blissful ignorance — a world where nothing can go wrong.
Then something on the farm goes very, very wrong. The devoted flock wakes to find their shepherd is dead. From the stories he once read them, they understand what has happened: A crime has been committed. George has been murdered.
This time, the sheep do not forget. Armed with the crime-solving knowledge gathered from George’s stories, and led by Lily (Louis-Dreyfus), the flock’s smartest sheep, they are determined to find the killer.
But leaving the farm is terrifying. The paved road separating the farm from the town is so unsettling, the sheep don’t even want to remember stepping onto it. But they grow from the experience, and begin offering thoughtful nudges to the inexperienced sheriff, who struggles to crack the case.
As the sheep venture further into new pastures, growing from uncomfortable experiences becomes increasingly difficult. The world outside the farm proves far more complicated and overwhelming than the stories in George’s books.
While the sheep suffer from growing pains, the film offers an unexpected reflection on grief and the importance of confronting difficult experiences that are a natural part of life.
“This is a movie about growing up in all its forms,” Jackman told reporters during a press conference. “We’re all growing up all the time, and it’s about sometimes the difficult truths or the scary things in life that are hard to face.”
When crime-solving becomes too heavy, the sheep instinctively want to forget. They no longer want to feel fear, sadness or grief. Forgetting is their escape — but it also inhibits learning and growth.
So when the sheep try to forgo pain and forget everything difficult, Mopple (O’Dowd), the flock’s most patient member, intervenes. He is the only sheep who cannot forget — remembering every disturbance as well as the joyful memories of every sheep the flock has lost.
“The sense memory ... that is his gift. But also his curse,” O’Dowd said during a press conference. “It means he remembers all of the bad things, all of the cruel things that have happened.”
Watching the sheep confront loss for the first time in their lives becomes a universally relatable experience. The flock is forced to learn something deeply human, an emotional journey that may bring audiences to tears.
The film explores “just how hard it is to be alive and to question your mortality,” Molly Gordon, who plays Rebecca in the film, told the Deseret News. “I loved that it was presented in this fantastical way in a children’s film and something more digestible. ... This is such a good script. I shouldn’t be crying at a sheep movie.”
If audiences can embrace the semi-awkward, playful world of crime-solving and talking sheep, they will walk away with an unexpected lesson on grief, and the courage to face life’s most challenging truths.
“You’re going to laugh ... it’s heartwarming,” Jackman said. “It’s really life affirming. And hopefully people walk out with a smile on their face and an open heart.”
