The Sheep Detectives is a clever combination of live action and animated sheep who work together to solve a murder mystery Agatha Christie style. It’s entertaining for adults but suitable for kids too.

The Sheep Detectives stars Hugh Jackman as George. He raises sheep for their wool, not for food. He lives in a comfy trailer on the same pasture as his sheep. Every night he reads them a mystery book. The sheep hold book group discussions every night on the way to the barn where they sleep. They always have a lot of theories about whodunit.

I’ll get to the characters we see as humans in a minute, but first I want to share some of the great actors doing voice work. We get Brett Goldstein, Patrick Stewart, Regina Hall, Bella Ramsey, Chris O’Dowd, Rhys Darby, Bryan Cranston, and a charming Julia Louis Dreyfus as Lily, the smartest sheep in the flock.

When George is found dead the inept local police, Officer Derry (Nicholas Braun), doesn’t even realize it was a murder at first. But don’t worry. The sheep are on the case and they provide hints and tips for the cop.

The people in the town who had issues with dear old George included Caleb (Tosin Cole), a sheepherder who raised his flock for meat (OH NO), Ham (Conleth Hill) the butcher, the reverend (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith), and innkeeper Beth (Hong Chau).

Newcomers on the scene included a reporter named Elliot (Nicholas Galitzine) and George’s long lost daughter Rebecca (Molly Gordon). Rebecca arrived with her lawyer Lydia Harbottle (Emma Thompson). The lawyer Harbottle arrived with George’s will in hand.

Officer Derry, with plenty of help from the sheep, went through the means, motive, and opportunity ritual for solving crimes. He decided since Rebecca was supposed to inherit George’s secret fortune, she must have been the killer. He arrested her. The sheep disagreed and took brave and extreme measures to show him the right guilty party.

There were sweet secondary plots around the various personalities of the sheep. There was a tiny bit of romance. There was a theme about social outcasts. There was a theme about being vegetarian. There was greed and a little bit of danger. Overall it was a charming cozy mystery with sheep as main characters. I don’t see how anyone could watch The Sheep Detectives and not love it.

The film is streaming on Prime Video. Have you seen it? Did you love it?