Movies with talking animals seem to be pretty common nowadays. Ever since “Babe” was nominated for Best Picture, Hollywood has been perfectly willing to let the Barnyard talk. By the way, I’m okay with that. These are fantasy films disguised as comedies, children’s movies, or social satires. The “Sheep Detectives” probably fits all three categories, it is funny, kids will generally love it, and it pokes fun at a f variety of contemporary quirks in our society, especially the Cozy mystery.

For those of you who are unaware, this film’s conceit is that a sheep rancher has been murdered and members of his flock are determined to discover the truth. Now why might you suppose sheep would be concerned with the death of their Shepherd?  Well the Rancher, played by Hugh Jackman, read to his flock on a nightly basis, and they primarily consumed the sort of mystery novels that can be summarized in a few simple tropes. The script convinces us that sheep are smart enough to pick those out and start applying them to the circumstances they find themselves in.

The film is funny but not in the way you might expect. There are some animal jokes and unusual situations, but most of the humor comes out of skewering small-town prejudices, and supposedly sophisticated attitudes. The fact that the local constable and the attorney for the dead man deliver their lines in a deadpan manner clearly intended to convey seriousness, with a slight tongue in cheek, makes this movie funny in a very subtle way.  The slapstick moments are relatively few, the things that really will make you chuckle are the human characters and the way they react to the clues that are being presented.

Of course everyone is a suspect at first, and the pool gets narrowed down as strangers enter into the equation. For a few moments the Sheep are even convinced that they have found the right person. like all good mysteries however there is a twist, and there is a clue or two that reveals that twist. I can’t say that I thought the script was especially clever when it comes to the mystery, but it seems to fulfill all of the requirements of those cozy mystery novels that seem to be so popular.

There are a few dark moments that might make you question whether taking children to this film is a good idea. We saw it on Mother’s Day in a full theater and there were kids. No one seemed traumatized, but if you have a 30-year-old in your life who stopped eating bacon after Babe, you might want to be a little concerned about what this film could do to your family’s future.

Ultimately this movie wins you over with its charm. The Sheep characters are fun, there are a couple of sympathetic human characters, and the setting in a quiet English Countryside Village gives you just exactly the kind of atmosphere you want for a warm fuzzy mystery. Pretty much they accomplish everything they intended to, just try not to be too harsh in judging people who aren’t vegetarians.