Psycho sheepherder, ques que c’est?
With the release of its second trailer, The Sheep Detectives truly looks like the most bizarre film of the year. A mixture of Babe and Murder, She Wrote, with a sprinkling of Waking Ned Devine, Detectives seems like absurdist family fare that plays by its own rules. And, honestly, I can’t wait for it.
The Sheep Detectives tells the story of George (Hugh Jackman), a shepherd who reads detective novels to his beloved sheep every night, assuming they can’t possibly understand. However, after his sudden death throes the farm into chaos, his sheep are forced to step into the role of detectives. Although no one expects them to be more than dumb animals, they follow the clues in the hopes of finding the truth about their beloved leader’s passing.
While I haven’t seen a single frame other than what’s seen in the two trailers, Detectives simply feels like the sort of unique family storytelling that marked the 90s. It’s original, has a wild premise and appears very, very silly. But, somehow, these talking sheep have already won my heart. While it seems stacked with stars such as Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson, Patrick Stewart, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Brett Goldstein and many, many more, the real stars seem to be the barnyard sleuths themselves. Frankly, this seems fueled by a heartbeat of innocence and pure joy.
Though, at the same time, the trailer also tips its had to the notion of finding one’s purpose. For these sheep, expectations for their behaviour are low. (“You know what people call dumb animals? Sheep,” they point out.) But the loss of their shepherd seems to push them to find more within themselves. Suddenly, they need to prove that they’re more than just ‘dumb animals’, not only to others but to themselves.
And I can’t wait to see the chaos that ensues.
The Sheep Detectives is available in theatres on May 8th, 2026.
