Critics Are Weepy for The Sheep Detectives

""The reason the sheep are capable of conveying emotionally resonant experiences is because there's a tangibility to them onscreen that's not just about design but to how well they fit within the movie's slightly heightened reality - creatures that have rich inner lives but that, to the humans, are basically part of the background. Like children, they pick up much more than anyone expects them to, even if they don't understand it all in the moment." - Alison Willmore, Vulture"

""Alternating a mellow storybook tone in the story's sheep-centered sections with jaunty Britcom-style humor whenever the focus shifts to human goings-on, the result comes about as close as any adaptation could to being all things to all creatures great and small." - Guy Lodge"

""has no business being as good as it is, or being the kind of movie you can imagine living forever in young memories as something both lightly scarring and delightful." Lightly scarring makes sense to describe a kids movie written by the creator of and the most heartstring-tugging standalone episode of television in a decade."

""The Sheep Detectives brims with charm, wit, and a twisty murder mystery that can only be solved by the most endearing set of farm animals since Farmer Hoggett said 'That'll do' to Babe the pig. This film has a similar combination of idyllic country settings, an assortment of vivid characters,""

The Sheep Detectives is a kids movie that feels lightly scarring and delightful while delivering a murder mystery solved by endearing farm animals. The animated sheep are given physical and emotional weight, with rich inner lives that register like children do, picking up more than expected even when they do not fully understand. The film balances a mellow storybook tone in sheep-focused moments with jaunty Britcom-style humor during human scenes. The result is an adaptation that aims to satisfy both the sheep-centered and human-centered perspectives, supported by a director known for animation who shifts toward live-action elements in a roughly even split.

Read at Vulture