DUBAI: There’s nothing so comforting as a good cozy mystery. The stakes are high enough to keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat, but you’re also charmed and disarmed by the warmth and endless chuckles. “The Sheep Detectives” — now on Amazon Prime — understands that balance perfectly, delivering a murder mystery that is charming, laugh-out-loud funny and surprisingly heartfelt. (Keep your tissues handy for the end.)
Set in rolling green countryside that seems lifted straight from a storybook, the film is easily accessible for children while offering enough cleverness to keep adults thoroughly entertained.
At its center is George (Hugh Jackman), a shepherd who adores his flock and spends every evening reading detective novels aloud to them, blissfully unaware they are hanging onto every word. When George is murdered, the flock decides that years of listening to fictional mysteries have prepared them to solve a real one.
It is an irresistibly silly premise, but the film never leans too heavily into slapstick. Instead, its comedy grows naturally from the personalities of its woolly detectives. Julia Louis-Dreyfus voices Lily, the flock’s sharpest thinker, while Chris O’Dowd’s forgetful yet lovable Mopple provides many of the biggest laughs. Regina Hall, Bryan Cranston, Patrick Stewart and Brett Goldstein round out an exceptional voice cast, each giving their sheep distinctive quirks that make the ensemble feel genuinely lived in.
