The Sheep Detectives (2026)
While I would normally plump for a violent film, action or horror are my go tos, I have two other considerations: my girlfriend and my mental health.
My girlfriend loves a cute animal film, as do I (Peter Rabbit/Zootropolis) but in less volume. I enjoy sharing a film with her. My mental health has not been great for a sustained period and the idea of choosing to watch a nightmare when you’re suffering them so intensely you have to get out of bed and try and reset your brain at night, doesn’t make me want to opt for a cinematic version.
We’d just seen and very much enjoyed The Magic Faraway Tree, an Enid Blyton adaptation which is pure panto fun and wonder and I highly recommend. I saw a trailer for The Sheep Detectives and only watched half of it before deciding it looked fun. We were in agreement and so it went on- and we got something completely unexpected.
What ensues is a murder mystery-come-comedy which transcends itself as the sheep try to solve the murder while humans bumble about. The Sheep Detectives has no right to be as fantastic and clever and witty as it is. I have not read the novel which it is based on- Leonie Swann’s “The Bags Full”, but if the mantra that books are better than the film holds true (read my Page to Screen series) then that is one hell of a book.
Funny, yes. Agatha Christie-esq murder mystery, yes. Cute animalimation, yes. Philosophical existentialism, blimey, wasn’t expecting that, emphatic yes. I was rocked by the surprises, laughed at the jokes and bought into the intrigue.
To spare you from spoilers, that’s all I’m going to say other than that The Sheep Detectives is a film for the whole family- adults will learn from this, not just children, and you’ll all have a blast doing it. Like Agatha Christie and George Orwell had a very funny baby- a shag I'd want more details of. 9/10
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