• Director: Kyle Balda
• Screenplay: Craig Mazin
• Based on: ‘Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story‘ by Leonie Swann
• Cast: Hugh Jackman, Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine, Molly Gordon, Hong Chau, Emma Thompson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Chris O’Dowd, Regina Hall, Patrick Stewart, Bella Ramsey, Brett Goldstein
• Cinematography: George Steel
• Editing: Martin Walsh, Paul Machliss, Al LeVine
• Score: Christophe Beck
• Genre: Mystery comedy
• Runtime: 109 minutes

A shepherd, George (Ewe Jackman – sorry, Hugh Jackman), lovingly looks after his flock. Every evening, he reads them murder mystery novels believing they, as special as they may be, are merely sheep, unable to understand these yarns. Their days gleefully roaming around the bucolic pasture come to a sudden halt as one morning, the sheep discover George’s body lying in the field. He’s been poisoned!

Lily, the smartest of the bunch, takes it upon herself to solve George’s murder by hook or by crook. She’s the bellwether, joined by Mopple (who has a good memory) and Sebastian (a loner and quite literally the black sheep of the flock). The residents of the local town of Denbrook fall under suspicion: a rival shepherd, a butcher, a priest, the innkeeper and George’s own daughter. Which one is a red herring? Who amongst them is a wolf in sheep’s clothing? Who’s acting unusually sheepish?

It’s family-friendly fare, with no injury detail or gruesomeness. The premise is shear silliness but I wasn’t exactly expecting anything highbrow here. The wool wasn’t pulled over my eyes. I’m sure kids will enjoy the slapstick feel and way-too-obvious jokes. Unsophisticated but three bags full of quaint English charm. A flock of celebs voice the woolly gang including Bryan Cranston, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Chris O’Dowd and Sir Patrick Stewart.

You won’t need to count sheep whilst watching; it keeps your attention and is surprisingly heartfelt when musing on mortality. It certainly wasn’t baaaad nor was I fleeced. Yes, you herd me correctly.

My rating: 6 / 10