I can’t imagine that I’m the only person who, after seeing Wicked: For Good, said to themselves, “You know what, I’m done looking at CGI animals.” Not to go full-blown Republican, but whatever happened to having a real physical animal onscreen and dubbing their dialogue like they used to do on Mister Ed? (I’m in my 30s, by the way.) No more whatever’s going on in Strays, no more Robert Downey Jr. Dolittle. The CGI animals are scary, and we don’t need to be seeing more of them in a world that’s scary enough as is. It’s time to return to the halcyon days of extremely talented animal actors, like Messi, the dog from Anatomy of a Fall. If the animals are not as good at acting as Messi, they don’t deserve to be in movies. This was my hard-and-fast belief — up until the trailer for The Sheep Detectives was released on December 18.
Maybe the fundamental issue with CGI animals is that they’re just not up to anything very interesting. Either they’re a vehicle for making crude jokes or tricking us into some kind of bizarre verisimilitude. In The Sheep Detectives, however, the CGI sheep are solving a murder mystery. That’s genius: The CGI animals have a job to do. Unfortunately for this flock, their beloved shepherd, played by Hugh Jackman — who reads them murder mysteries before bed every night — has been murdered, and they’re the critters most equipped to solve the case. The Sheep Detectives boasts an impressive supporting cast, including Emma Thompson, Nicholas Braun (playing British? okay), Molly Gordon, and Nicholas Galitzine. But let’s be honest: We’re all just in it to see these fake sheep solve a mystery. Perhaps most bafflingly, The Sheep Detectives was written by Craig Mazin, of Chernobyl and The Last of Us fame, suggesting he really needed a pick-me-up after doing those two shows. Can you blame him? These guys, by which I mean the sheep who are solving a murder mystery, will arrive in theaters on May 8, 2026, just in time for shearing season.
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