In case you haven’t heard, sheep are the talk of the town. Many times now, I’ve run into friends and asked for their plans, and they said that they want to watch The Sheep Detectives.

I first heard about this movie when I saw the trailer before seeing The Drama, so I expected a spring of great cinema. I know a film with talking sheep may not seem intriguing to everyone, but I had a feeling it would be a must-watch. After all, I saw some of my favorite actors in the trailer, so I assumed it could not be a throw-on-in-the-background for children type of movie. I knew Hugh Jackman, Nicholas Galitzine, Nicholas Braun and Molly Gordon had to sign on to something with potential.

Of course, The Drama and The Sheep Detectives are very different movies. I hope you’ve watched The Drama, as I thoroughly enjoyed it and left the theater deep in conversation with my friends, which is a great sign that a movie succeeded. Now, while this is not a review on The Drama, what it and The Sheep Detectives have in common is sharing the top two spots in my favorite films of 2026 so far.

But it’s not just me who has enjoyed the movie. The Sheep Detectives scored 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is higher than some of the most-watched movies like Oppenheimer (93%), Fight Club (82%) and La La Land (91%). So if you liked The Drama, which holds a Rotten Tomatoes score of 77%, or any of these other classic movies, I am sure The Sheep Detectives could surprise you, if given a chance.

The Sheep Detectives follows George Hardy (Hugh Jackman), a shepherd who cares deeply for his sheep: naming each, feeding them, providing them with medicine and reading murder mysteries to them each night. Hardy’s sheep share his love of murder mysteries until they themselves become involved in one as they to find his killer.

The smartest of his sheep, Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) leads the rest in crafting a plan and finding suspects. Lily, Mopple (Chris O’Dowd) and Sebastian (Bryan Cranston) are the three key sheep of the film, being the only ones to leave their home and cross into the village. 

The sheep help the village’s (initially) incompetent police officer Tim Derry (Nicholas Braun) with his first muder case. Derry is frazzled at first, questioning whether or not Hardy’s sheep are following him. In the end, it’s their knowledge of murder mysteries and their subsequent aid that help Derry solve the case.

Beyond being a simple muder mystery, the film balances humor with emotional depth. While at times, the movie plays into sheep often being considered “dumb,” it also shows their emotional intelligence and loyalty. Beyond the sheep, the humans in the village add a funny and diverse line of murder suspects. The audience can see how the victim’s daughter, a nosey inn manager, the other local sheep farmer, the pastor and the local butcher each held motives to want to kill Hardy.

Leaving the theater, my friends and I discussed three of our greatest takeaways. First, the winter lamb arc had me sobbing. Throughout the film, we see there is a small, dotted sheep who is ostracized simply because he was born in the wrong season. The other sheep do not talk to him nor allow him to join the flock, yet Hardy still ensures that he is cared for and fed, further showing his compassion. 

Next, when others decide to forget Hardy’s death, Lily realizes how much we lose when we try to hold on to only happy memories, eventually deciding to endure the pain to always remember Hardy’s love and care. Lastly, Hardy’s choice to raise his sheep only for their wool stood out to me — not every meadow is a happy place. Lily learns sheep do not become clouds and can be killed by their shepherd. My heart shattered as she learned not all sheepherders are like Hardy.

The Sheep Detectives has some romance with officer Derry being infatuated with Hardy’s estranged daughter, Rebecca Hampson (Molly Gordon). It’s fun to watch Derry try to impress Hampson. At the end of the film, we learn Beth Pennock (Hong Chau) despised Hardy because she was in love with him, but he was devoted to his dead wife. 

We see unrequited love and jealousy throughout the film. And perhaps it was just me, but throughout most of the movie, I found myself rooting for Lily to fall in love with Mopple or Sebastian. I couldn’t gauge the sheep’s ages, but their strong connections and loyalty made me initially believe they would have a different kind of happy ending.

The Sheep Detectives is witty, moving and overall just a great spring watch. It’s ideal for audiences of all ages. Children can enjoy the talking sheep while adults can understand the deeper messages the movie looks to share. Society can depict people as outsiders for absurd reasons. Painful memories are still worth remembering. Animals in general should not be subjected to our human cruelty. I wasn’t expecting a sheep murder mystery to be so profound.

Give the sheep the opportunity to surprise you. I guarantee you will not finish watching with dry eyes.