'The Sheep Detectives' Should Make Families Flock to the Theaters
The Sheep Detectives has Paddington levels of charm that will make you glee with joy. There are some dark elements in the film, yet they worked pretty well, adding a layer of complexity and dimension to the kids' story. The film explores themes of loss, abuse, and kindness in an incredibly satisfying package. The movie has deep moments that will give you a lump in your throat, and others that will bring a good giggle. It balances tone well, where its sentimentality is earned. It might not reach Pixar-level existentialism, nor should it. The movie's charm comes from the heart of storytellers who want to be kids, rather than settle for something dull and dumb like a Studio Illumination film.
Not to be misunderstood, The Sheep Detectives is not an animated film. It certainly has the premise of one since it features talking animals. But it works better as a live-action film that mixes itself with CGI characters. Arguably, there's more discernibility between the sheep in Sheep Detectives than there were lions in The Lion King remake. The detective story in Sheep Detectives is a Paddington whodunit. The jokes don't entirely land hard, nor are they aiming to. It's more the aesthetic of happiness, beautifully brought to screen, that makes Sheep Detectives visually sing. For all my bemoaning about film being superior to digital, there are cases like these where digital would be a preferred filmmaking method. Every inch of the frame in this movie is painted, decorated, and lit to look like candy. Walls that typically wouldn't be blue are decorated so that the colors in the frame drip with contrast.
The narrative is quite clever. But if it had fallen into the wrong hands, it could have been a mess, since there are so many characters to cover at the same time. There are the human characters, then there are the sheep characters. The film cuts between the two ensemble casts frequently without losing sight of the audience's investment. If there's one critique, it's that it's tough to keep track of which supporting sheep are which, since they're all CGI characters. Not that it matters much since most of the supporting sheep aren't the real sheep we're supposed to keep track of.
Hugh Jackman retracts the claws to play a peaceful, yet stern shepherd. George Hardy lives a quiet life in a van within a small town overseas. The location is beautiful and serene. The perfect place for a person to disappear into a secluded life. George spends his days reading to his flock, caring for them as if they were his own children. How can you not? Little George AKA The Winter Lamb (Tommy Birchall) is the cutest little thing you'll see on screen. One day, George Hady is found dead. We don't know who murdered him, and it's up to a cast of humans and CG sheep to figure out who killed Mr. Hardy.
The movie follows the point of view of a foolish police officer who, predictably yet charmingly, learns how to channel his inner Sherlock Holmes. While details of what would lead one to kill George unearth truths and misconceptions about many in the supporting cast, making us question everyone's motives. The most significant moments in the film are the ones that explore the darkest aspects of humanity. One backstory, for instance, has Michael Vick's levels of animal abuse off-screen. It's not just neglect but also death that the film touches upon. What happens when we realize we don't just become clouds when we die?
Although the movie tackles heavy topics, it does so with an appropriate level of brevity to avoid scaring children away. The real charm of the film isn't the mystery of who killed George, but rather how we get to know the people involved in George's life. It's about how a grumpy older man still made a difference by helping others, showing us that not everyone is who they appear to be. The Sheep Detectives is a sweet lesson in caring for your flock (man or sheep) that hopefully can lure families into the theater this weekend.
