The Sheep Detectives preview screening provided by Sony Pictures
While the film to beat for ‘most wholesome of 2026’ is still firmly Project Hail Mary, Kyle Balda’s The Sheep Detectives is a strong contender for second place. This Agatha Christie esque small-town-whodunnit is as full of charm and wit as one can expect from the man behind the equally charming and witty Minions films, delivering a clever little murder mystery that may well have Kenneth Branagh quaking in his boots.
Adapted from Leonie Swann’s bestseller Three Bags Full, screenwriter Craig Mazin (known for wordsmithing the less colourful worlds of shows like Chernobyl and The Last of Us) blends goofy humour with a solid head scratcher. He trades bleak wastelands for the lush green backdrop of a small country town in the UK, the fictional Denbrook, and captures the uniquely English aura that is commonplace for this genre of filmmaking.
Adding to the English aura are Emma Thompson and the voices of Sir Patrick Stewart and Brett Goldstein in an ensemble that is otherwise anything but English. The prime time name brought to put bums in seats is Australian icon Hugh Jackman as the swoony shepherd George Hardy draped in rugged farming attire, reminiscent of his look in Australia (2008). He tends to his flock, reads them bedtime mystery stories and gives them a self-made blue medicine to treat Orf. In other words, he’s the antithesis of some of his neighbouring Denbrook residents, like fellow rival shepherd Caleb (Tosin Cole) and local butcher Ham Gilyard (Conleth Hill). His presence is short-lived, however, as he is murdered late at night outside his trailer home leading a murder mystery to rock an otherwise quiet town.
Local police officer Tim Derry (a hilarious Nicholas Braun with a terrible English accent), the town’s only police officer, realises he’s got some work to do. But unbeknownst to him (and George Hardy before him), someone is already on the case: the sheep themselves. While photorealistic talking animals might not be the most embraced development in CGI in recent times due to their often expressionless designs —see Jon Favreau’s The Lion King (2019) or Barry Jenkins’ Mufasa: The Lion King (2024)— Balda has found a nice balance in how he incorporates them alongside the wider humans involved in the mystery. In other words, there is a genuine care with how much and how little to use the sheep.
Much of that care is owed to the voices behind the CGI flock. Julia Louis-Dreyfus voices the lead sheep, Lily, with an assortment of stars like the aformentioned Patrick Stewart and Brett Goldstein joined by Bryan Cranston, Chris O’Dowd, Regina Hall, Bella Ramsey and Rhys Darby. Each voice actor imbues their respective sheep with enough charisma to not leave any line or gag feeling flat. On the flipside are the humans, with Molly Gordon playing Rebecca Hampstead, upcoming He-Man Nicholas Galitzine playing Elliot Matthews, and Hong Chau playing Beth Pennock. It’s a well rounded ensemble that delivers Mazin’s script with flair and wit.
While the actual murder mystery part isn’t all that difficult to figure out before the end, Balda has done well at giving adults and children alike a modern Babe (1995). That might be as glowing a comparison as one can hope to receive for this sort of hearty comedy. The only real grievance one might find is that the deeper portions of the movie might be a tad too deep for children to grasp and a tad too obvious for adults to not eye roll at unless you’re vegan (like the reality check of ‘Meet Your Meat’). But this is a minor hiccup in an otherwise heartfelt, mellow and wholesome murder mystery that doesn’t overcomplicate its murder and mystery (meaning you may well end up feeling smarter than the sheep before the end) and does offer a breezy time at the cinema.
The Sheep Detectives opens nationally from 7 May.
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