Talking sheep and a star-studded cast led by Hugh Jackman knitted together in a woolly, witty whodunnit for all ages. Is it any wonder The Sheep Detectives is shaping up as the biggest thing since Babe?

In its opening weekend (May 8-10), this surprise hit took an estimated $US28 million ($A38.7 million) worldwide at the box office, coming in fourth position behind The Devil Wears Prada 2, the Michael Jackson biopic Michael and Mortal Kombat II.

It was also among the top five films in Australia over the bumper Mother’s Day weekend, with the global box-office figure including $US16 million ($A22 million) in the United States.

“By comparison, the most recent Paddington movie (Paddington in Peru) grossed nearly $200 million worldwide after opening with $12 million domestically,” noted US-based website Collider.

Set in an English village and featuring a mixture of live action and animation, The Sheep Detectives puts the Wolverine among the sheep in what is Australian actor Jackman’s first film role since playing one half of a Neil Diamond tribute act in Song Sung Blue.

This time around he doesn’t sing, but he does talk to the animals.

Jackman’s character is kind-hearted shepherd George, who lives in a caravan and believes sheep are the secret to happiness. He knows each member of his ragtag mob by name and reads murder mysteries aloud to them every night – until one day the flock discovers him lying dead in the paddock.

With foul play clearly afoot, the woolly sleuths set out to find George’s killer.

“Here’s a murder mystery that’s like a cross between Babe and the Thursday Murder Club… with a touch of Watership Down somewhere in the mix,” wrote Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw.

US entertainment website Deadline also invoked Australian filmmaker George Miller’s 1995’s multi-Oscar-nominated hit Babe in its review, declaring The Sheep Detectives recalled the delight of that comedy “mixed with the kind of murder mystery you might find in Knives Out”.

A top-notch team of creatives and artists has helped propel the new film to success, including BAFTA-nominated American director and animator Kyle Balda (Minions, Despicable Me).

The story itself is based on German author Leonie Swann’s international bestseller Three Bags Full and was adapted for the screen by Craig Mazin, who previously penned dystopian TV series The Last of Us and multiple Primetime Emmy-winning 2019 mini-series Chernobyl, as well as the second two Hangover movies.

Then there’s the cast. Alongside Jackman, the live-action actors include Succession’s Nicholas Braun as the hapless police officer investigating George’s murder, Emma Thompson as lawyer Lydia Harbottle, and Molly Gordon as a young American woman who has recently arrived in town and who turns out to have a surprise connection to the victim.

The rest of the town’s colourful characters and potential suspects reads like a Mother Goose rhyme – the butcher, the innkeeper, the preacher, the neighbour (and more).

The sheep – who it turns out can both understand and speak English – are led by the whip-smart Lily (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and include loner Sebastian (Bryan Cranston), stately Sir Ritchfield (Patrick Stewart), vision-impaired Wool Eyes (Rhys Darby) and a merino named Mopple (Chris O’Dowd).

Although films with talking animals can be divisive, this one seems to overcome the prejudices of viewers and critics – perhaps because it fuels our nostalgia for simpler times and old-style family movies that offered enjoyment for both young and old.

Many adults have admitted being reduced to tears by the story, and screenwriter Mazin has said that audience reactions show people are delighted and surprised at how much more there is going on than just “silly sheep doing something silly”.

“There are some really beautiful moments and themes and things that parents can talk about with their kids … and, most importantly, it is legitimately a movie that is meant for everyone,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

 

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On Rotten Tomatoes, The Sheep Detectives currently has a 94 per cent approval rating among critics, described as “drolly funny and sweet as a lamb”.

“Saw this today and it is JUST PERFECT,” agreed a YouTube user. “Funny, heartfelt, sweet, sad, and a darn good mystery story.”

Jackman told the Today show in the US that cast signed on because of the strength of the story.

“Before I read the script, Eric, my friend, said ‘Dude, I’ve got the craziest thing. It’s out of the box, it’s Babe meets Knives Out, it’s written by Craig Mazin’… I was 25 pages in and I was like, ‘I’m in’. It was the perfect script.”

Jackson believes The Sheep Detectives resonates with audiences because it is funny, touching and smart.

“Ultimately, I think the movie really gets your heart – it creeps up on you, it surprises you.”