The Sheep Detectives

Image credit: IMDb

We don’t say it enough, but animals really are wondrous. Think about it, they bring sooo much to human society. They help to feed us, clothe us, guide us, soothe us, they provide jobs in rearing, researching, destroying, and preserving, and they are so often used as such marvelous narrative devices. Whether they are outsmarting villainous fashionist divas a la Disney or satirising the rise of Soviet totalitarianism for Orwell, animals are everywhere and exerting more influence in our daily lives than they and we realise.

In Kyle Balda’s The Sheep Detectives animals, primarily sheep, explore and dissect the generic formula of the whodunnit while remaining a very sweet and moving family movie.

George Hardy is a smalltown shepherd who spends his time tending his flock: feeding them, shearing them, giving them their medicine, and reading crime novels aloud to them. When he is found dead one morning, his flock immediately recognise the telltale signs of a murder, and they put their love of crime novels to the test to solve the mystery.

Based on the novel Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann, The Sheep Detectives is an adorable family whodunnit that is both whimsical and darkly intriguing: like a cross between Babe and Knives Out. Running parallel to the PG murder mystery is a deep and moving story about belonging as well as a shallow exploration into the social complexities of communities and the intricacies of their relationships.

A delightful and whimsical cast of memorable characters zealously dissect and follow the recognisable formula of the whodunnit genre, while simultaneously making fun of the genre by exaggerating key tropes like the inept authorities and hammering home the idea that the formula is so straightforward that even a sheep can solve it. Add to this a darling array of voice talents and it’s a few adorable ideas about the cultural beliefs of sheep and you’ve got a movie that is the perfect way to spend a cozy Sunday afternoon.

Image credit: Australian Catholics

Director: Kyle Balda, 2026

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Regina Hall, Brett Goldstein, Bella Ramsay, Chris O’Dowd, Rhys Darby, Patrick Stewart, Bryan Cranston, Nicholas Braun, Conleth Hill, Tosin Cole, Hong Chau, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Nicholas Galitzine, Molly Gordon, & Emma Thompson