The Sheep Detectives

“The Sheep Detectives is slow getting off the ground, and some of its lines are not either funny or engaging when George is having his heart-to-hearts. However, it is surprising how meaty this story turns out to be in director Kyle Balda and scriptwriter Craig Mazin's hands, with all the charms and notes of an Agatha Christie mystery.”

“The Sheep Detectives is a very sweet, and often quite moving, family comedy about grief and death. As dark as the story can sometimes get, there's still enough warmth and wit to make it appropriate for younger audiences.”

“The Sheep Detectives is one of those rare family films that manages to feel both light and surprisingly profound. This is a warm, whimsical film with more depth than you might expect. It's the kind of movie that works for kids but gives adults plenty to think about — a gentle reminder that even the quietest voices can have something important to say.”

“The Sheep Detectives is one of those family entertainers that will be enjoyed by kids as much as grown-ups, offering an entertaining whodunnit with bags full of charm.”

“Under the assured direction of Kyle Balda, the film emerges not as a gimmick but as a warm, eccentric, and unexpectedly moving family entertainer that understands exactly how far to stretch its conceit without snapping it. The Sheep Detectives thrives on contrast, and it is this contrast that gives the film its emotional resonance. In the end, what lingers is not the novelty of sheep solving a murder but the film's quiet insistence that stories, no matter how imperfectly understood, are how we make sense of loss.”

“The Sheep Detectives is a winning PG comedy that ably combines good detective storytelling with emotionally rich family entertainment. Though it can sometimes be too corny or overly precious, director Kyle Balda has fashioned the sort of pleasing all-ages entertainment we get so infrequently, buoyed by a wonderful Julia Louis-Dreyfus performance that gives the film an emotional core that's quite affecting.”

“The Sheep Detectives is delightful and wholesome in the way family movies used to be before kids started getting too smart to be easily pleased. The voice cast is so wonderful that the scenes with the sheep are far more entertaining than the ones with humans.”

“The Sheep Detectives has a bit of an identity crisis on its hands, caught somewhere between the whimsical world of Paddington and a hard-boiled murder-mystery, with jokes that rarely land. However, it does manage to spin an engaging mystery that keeps you guessing, and finds its woolly heart in the bond between these well-voiced animals and their owner.”

“It makes for a sweet-natured family comedy, and a spiky and amusing cameo from Emma Thompson certainly doesn't hurt. The great feelgood trick pulled off by this film is that the murder doesn't get swamped with sadness and shock. It's an entertaining tale of ovine law enforcement.”

“The result may just be the most tonally surprising feature of the year so far, a rare, unabashedly earnest PG-rated film that has enchanted audiences with the deceptively simple power of well-deployed tropes. In The Sheep Detectives, such devotion to emotional satisfaction makes even the most overused clichés seem fresh and affecting.”

“The Sheep Detectives is a profoundly odd viewing experience – entirely pleasant, lightly funny and easily absorbed, yet every so often you find yourself thinking hang on a minute, I am watching a flock of sheep investigate a murder, and feel like you are having a stroke. It's a marshmallowy all-age confection, as fluffy as its ovine protagonists, even if some aspects are likely to elicit a species-appropriate meh-eh-eh-eh-eh.”

“Despite the (brief) presence of Hugh Jackman and a top-flight voice cast, the movie never achieves the level of magic for which it's desperately straining. The Sheep Detectives never really gels, feeling too dark for younger kids and too silly for discerning adults.”

“A wondrously entertaining and winning concoction, this has been brought to the screen by director Kyle Balda... It is a charmer, and fortunately one in which both kids and their parents will find equally much to like. The talking sheep are a no-brainer to keep the little ones amused, and the cleverly written murder mystery is actually a step above what makes the grade in the genre these days.”

“At a time when quite a lot of content seems to lack grace, comes The Sheep Detectives, a film sure to bring a smile to your face, a lump in your throat, and restore your faith in humanity. The Sheep Detectives is gentle even as it uncovers the harshest truths. And it is laugh-out-loud funny too. The Sheep Detectives is one of those wise, warm and witty whodunits.”

“Kyle Balda's 'The Sheep Detectives' is a family-friendly charmer with wholesomely offbeat appeal and bags full of charm.”