“The Sheep Detectives” may be the best surprise to come just before movie fans get bombarded with an endless stream of blockbusters, otherwise known as summer movie season.
It’s everything a family film should be, including the basic tenet that it appeals to adults also.
There’s little wrong with family movies that know the primary audience is the younger set, but there’s something far more enjoyable when children and older relatives can bask in the glow of a shared experience at the theater with a film that proves memorable to all.
“The Sheep Detectives,” based on the novel “Three Bags Full” by Leonie Swann, which tells the story of shepherd George Hardy (Hugh Jackman), who tends and raises his flock of sheep not for their flesh but for their wool, is such a film.
George possesses a special kinship with each and every member of his flock, recognizing their individual personality quirks and giving them names to match those idiosyncrasies. He lives outside of the small town of Denbrook in the United Kingdom content to take care of his extended family and read them murder mysteries.
Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), viewed as the smartest, Mopple (Chris O’Dowd), twin rams Reggie and Ronnie (Brett Goldstein), Cloud (Regina Hall) and the rest listen with rapt attention to those novels, while others, loner Sebastian (Bryan Cranston) view the flock from a distance. They are a unique set of characters.
They’re not to be outdone by the citizens of Denbrook themselves who all possess their own quirks. Among them, the town’s lone police officer Tim Derry (Nicholas Braun), who possesses little in the way of investigative skills.
Unfortunately, those skills will be needed when George turns up dead, a happenstance that Derry views as a heart attack. The sheep, led by Lily and Mopple, are resolute in their belief that foul play is afoot. Complicating matters – the prior arrival of Elliot Matthews (Nicholas Galitzine), a reporter who senses the same and latches on to Derry in the hopes of getting a blockbuster story to further his career.
There’s plenty to uncover and George, a man of many mysteries, has them revealed during the course of the investigation. Among them: he’s worth millions. Another one: he is the father of twins that were given up for adoption and he has been in touch with them.
His daughter, Rebecca (Molly Gordon of TV’s “The Bear”), had arrived at Derry to get to know her father only to have to contend with his untimely death and eventually being considered the prime suspect.
The film sets up as a conventional murder mystery, but it possesses the wit and tone of “The Knives Out” series. It’s fun to follow the twists and turns for children and adults as Kyle Balda (“Minions,” “Despicable Me 3”), who directs from a script from Craig Mazin (“The Last of Us”), deftly sets those gyrations in motion and keeps the audience guessing in the process.
It’s wise that Balda received the call to direct this enjoyable film. It’s a live-action and animation hybrid with the sheep almost being indistinguishable from the people in the film. His animation background serves him well here, right down to being able to get distinct, memorable performances from an impressive cast using their voice skills to convey their characters’ respective personalities.
In a world where video game films pass for family entertainment, “The Sheep Detectives” comes along to remind audiences what that truly means.
George M. Thomas covers a myriad of things including sports and pop culture, but mostly sports, he thinks, for the Beacon Journal.
Review
Movie: “The Sheep Detectives”
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Nicholas Braun, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston
Directed by: Kyle Balda
Running time: 1 hour 49 minutes
Rated: PG for thematic material, some violent content and brief language.
Grade: B+
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hugh Jackman’s ‘Sheep Detectives’ proves to be delightful family film
Reporting by George M. Thomas, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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