The Sheep Detectives movie review: Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson and a top-notch voice cast can’t make this family-friendly mystery

The smartest moment in Sheep investigations It happens before the movie properly begins. Before the opening credits, the iconic MGM lion appears, but instead of his usual roar he lets out a sad “BAA.” Unfortunately, the rest of this family murder mystery never matches this level of intelligence. Despite the (brief) presence of Hugh Jackman and a top-notch voice cast, the film never reaches the level of magic it strives for.

Based on the best-selling German novel of 2005 Three full bagsThe film stars Jackman as George, perhaps the most robbed shepherd in history, who lovingly tends to his large flock of sheep that he is determined never to kill. He is so fond of them, in fact, that he gives them daily readings of his favorite genre, murder mysteries, in which they sit attentively as if they understood every word.

This being a family film, they of course replace the “bass” with human speech when they talk to themselves. As Craig Mazin wrote (The last of us), their dialogue is mildly entertaining and interestingly philosophical, if sometimes misguided. They do not believe that sheep die, for example, but rather that they simply turn into clouds.

When George turns up dead in the pasture one day, his hands mysteriously painted with a blue-green dye, the sheep naturally feel sad. Especially Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), whom George described as the smartest in his flock and who he cared about the most. Suspecting that the bumbling local cop, Officer Tim Derry (Nicholas Browne, exuding goofiness), is wrong in his conclusion that George simply died of a heart attack, Lily rallies her fellow sheep to help solve the murder.

There is no shortage of suspects, including Rebecca (Molly Gordon), George’s daughter who suddenly appears after many years; Beth (Hong Chow), the local hotel owner, with whom George appears to have had a past; Caleb (Tosin Cole), the neighboring shepherd toward whom George harbors animosity; Reverend Hillcoat (Cubna Holdbrook-Smith), to whose church George made a large and mysterious donation shortly before his death; and Ham (Conleth Hill), the town butcher, who has had his eye on George’s sheep for a long time.

Other human characters who appear in the proceedings are Elliot (Nicholas Galitzine), a news reporter who came to cover the local arts festival but stuck around after George’s death; And Lydia (Emma Thompson, enjoying herself), George’s lawyer, shows up with George’s newly redacted will.

Even now, that’s the case with Agatha Christie, even though this master crime dame remains stuck solving human crimes. She certainly never tells one of her characters to “don’t eat the crime scene” as one of the sheep here advises. As the intrepid animals pursue the case, gently nudging hapless Officer Derry to follow in their footsteps, their wildly contrasting personalities are on display along the way – from the soulful Moble (Chris Dodd, whose Irish-accented voice is… exactly What would you expect from the voice of a sheep) to the ever-curious Zora (Bella Ramsey) to the proudly fluffy Cloud (Regina Hall) to Ronnie and Reggie (both voiced by Brett Goldstein, using his voice. Ted Lasso growl) to the elder statesman (er, statesman?) Sir Richfield (Patrick Stewart, appropriately regal) to the aloof ram, Sebastian (Bryan Cranston, who seems authoritative), who has a tragic backstory.

This backstory may be disturbing for young children, as is the ferocious battle between Sebastian and two dangerous dogs, which undoubtedly accounts for the film’s PG rating. Despite the abundance of talent in front of and behind the camera (Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, both of whom are currently starring with… Hail Mary projectare among the executive producers, while director Kyle Balda previously served as helm Minions and Despicable me 3), Sheep investigations It never unfolds, it seems too dark for young children and too silly for discerning adults.

It doesn’t help that the sheep characters, played for maximum cuteness, are depicted through realistic animation that looks incredibly realistic, yet no. Sheep are not the most expressive animals and are not particularly interesting to look at. Respected, character-packed voice talent provides partial compensation, but as is the case with Disney’s “live action” production. The lion king remake and countless others, the depiction of animals here seems more creepy than cute.

Jackman, who, rest assured, appears periodically in the film even after his character is found dead, proves so charismatic that it’s easy to understand why George’s flock would devote themselves to finding his killer. What’s less easy to understand is why the rest of us really care.