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Go behind the scenes of The Sheep Detectives, with Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson and more
Featurette: Amazon MGM Studios

The Sheep Detectives
Created by Kyle Balda
Solved 8 May 2026
#TheSheepDetectives

Hopefully this genteel, family-friendly comedy-mystery will be able to solve another puzzle by finding the large audience it deserves.

The Game Is Ahoof

There’s a lot of cleverness afoot and ahoof in The Sheep Detectives. Some of it’s subtle, some more overt. But the attention to detail elevates this production into something rather special.

Based on Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story, a 2005 book by German author Leonie Swann, this mostly lighthearted story plays off all the typical murder mystery whodunnit tropes. Except for one huge difference: the detectives are sheep residing outside a quaint English village and the victim is their shepherd, George Hardy (Hugh Jackman, and, of course, the marketing of this movie also joins in on the game with taglines like one calling it a “Hughdunnit.” Get it?).

The sight gags come early and often. For example, the opening MGM lion doesn’t roar, it baahs like a sheep.

There’s also a scene in which George enters the Denbrook village church, a classic stone cathedral. As the doors open and he strolls down the center aisle, he’s bathed in sunlight. He has a strained relationship with the priest, which is explained later in the movie. George steps intently down the aisle. Strapped to his belt are two baby bottles, used to feed his baby sheep. The appearance and vibe is of a cowboy with a couple six-shooters in his holster.

All of this is in service to the movie’s big concept: George reads murder mysteries to his flock of sheep every evening. After he goes back inside his Airstream for the night, the faithful flock sift through the possibilities of whodunnit, eagerly awaiting the next day’s big reveal of the culprit.

On the Lam

Amazon MGM is on a roll with Sheep Detectives’ co-producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who co-directed the studio’s first mega-hit, Project Hail Mary. That one had a healthy sense of classic sci-fi movies like Close Encounters and 2001: A Space Odyssey. This one shares sensibilities with Wallace & Gromit and, oddly enough, even a little bit of Sweeney Todd. For the daunting task of directing this CGI-heavy venture, they justifiably brought on Kyle Balda, who holds quite an impressive catalog of directing titles, including Minions and Despicable Me 3, along with an assortment of roles on Pixar and DreamWorks productions.

To the credit of novelist Swann and adapting screenwriter Craig Mazin, the story holds together well with enough suspects and clever twists to make the resolution a decent surprise. Mazin, by the way, has quite a diverse roster to his credit, including episodes of dramatic series The Last of Us and Chernobyl, along with entries in the comedic Scary Movie and Hangover franchises.

In the world of these sheep detectives, Elliot Matthews (Nicholas Galitzine, the star of the upcoming He-Man and the Masters of the Universe) is a journalist stuck at the obituary desk looking for his big break. His assignment to cover the Denbrook Culture Festival certainly won’t do it. But a murder mystery? Heck yeah!

The mystery deepens at George’s will reading, which draws folks from near and afar, including his US-based daughter, Rebecca Hempstead (Molly Gordon), who at one point – humorously – also went by the name Chastity Cramps. George makes it clear that among those noted in his will there’s a fool, two murderers, a bad shepherd, a victim and a winter lamb. (Winter lambs are historically deemed inferior to lambs born in the spring, apparently.)

There were people who loved George, naturally. But, of course, there were also those who hated the generally gentle and kind man. And some hid their true feelings for the man under a more aggressive façade.

It’s a guessing game in the fine tradition of Agathie Christie, a mystery that works for both adults and little ones. While there is a challenge in following the logic behind a large sum of money (where exactly did it come from and where exactly did it go?), overall, the mystery works well.

Died in the Wool

Whospunnit? Was it the priest – the Lamb of God – or was it a different member of the flock? Maybe it was the butcher. Needless to say, there are plenty of fine English puns to be spun. But there is one glaring missed opportunity. One of the suspects drives a pickup. It’s a Ford. It should’ve been a Dodge Ram.

The scene of the crime naturally holds clues and those dedicated, loving sheep seek to pull it all together. The bigger challenge, though, will be herding those thick-headed humans, led by a remarkably clueless peace officer, Tim Derry (Nicholas Braun), to the actual criminal.

Those sheep have a lot going for them. After all, they’re voiced by formidable talents including Patrick Stewart, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston and Regina Hall.

Along the way, there’s also a joke out of left field about Return to Oz, the long-forgotten 1985 sequel to The Wizard of Oz starring Fairuza Balk. The villagers are astonished when the way too green journalist, Elliot, claims to have never even heard of the movie. They explain to him it was filmed right there, in their own backyard. True: both movies (Return to Oz and Sheep Detectives) were filmed in Hertfordshire. They also claim it’s even better – much better – than the original movie.

Um.

False.

• Originally published at MovieHabit.com.