‘The Sheep Detectives’ review: A killer is on the lamb in cute animal mystery movie

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“Running time: 109 minutes.”

DISPUTED

Two different sources provide conflicting running times: one review states 109 minutes, while WTOP News reports 110 minutes.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Little House on the Prairie is an American Western historical drama about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota from the 1870s to the 1890s. The show is a full-color series loosely base…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Peppa Pig is a British preschool animated television series produced by Astley Baker Davies. The show features the eponymous pig along with her family and friends. Each episode is approximately five m…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Peppa_Pig_episodes

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Sheep Detectives is a 2026 mystery comedy film directed by Kyle Balda and written by Craig Mazin, based on the 2005 novel Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann. The film features an ensemble cast includ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sheep_Detectives

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“Rated PG (thematic material, some violent content and brief language).”

CORROBORATED

The PG rating and the specific content descriptors (thematic material, some violent content and brief language) are confirmed by both a movie review and WTOP News.

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web search NEUTRAL — “The Sheep Detectives,” an Amazon MGM release in theaters Friday, is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association for thematic material, some violent content and brief language. Running time: 110 minute…
https://wtop.com/animals-pets/2026/05/movie-review-in-the-sh…

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web search NEUTRAL — The Sheep Detectives. The BEST Script Hugh Jackman's Ever Read?!Movie Info. Synopsis In this witty, new breed of mystery, George (Hugh Jackman) is a shepherd who reads detective novels to his beloved …
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_sheep_detectives

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web search NEUTRAL — The Sheep Detectives, a charming new film inspired by Leonie Swann s book Three Bags Full, is one of the most unexpectedly delightful and surprisingly meaningful family films of 2026.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/the-sheep-detectives-revi…

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“a shepherd named George played by Hugh Jackman”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple web sources confirm Hugh Jackman plays the character George (or George Hardy), a shepherd.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Sheep Detectives is a 2026 mystery comedy film directed by Kyle Balda and written by Craig Mazin, based on the 2005 novel Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann. The film features an ensemble cast includ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sheep_Detectives

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story (original German title: Glennkill: Ein Schafskrimi) is a 2005 novel by Leonie Swann. It is a detective story featuring a flock of Irish sheep out to solve the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Bags_Full

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Australian actor Hugh Jackman is known for his leading man roles on stage and screen. Jackman gained stardom for his portrayal of the Marvel Comics superhero Wolverine from the X-Men film series in 10…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Jackman_filmography_and_d…

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“the good shepherd is fatally poisoned by inedible parts of a yew tree”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While sources confirm George is a shepherd who is murdered, none of the provided evidence mentions the specific cause of death being poisoning from a yew tree.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Australian actor Hugh Jackman is known for his leading man roles on stage and screen. Jackman gained stardom for his portrayal of the Marvel Comics superhero Wolverine from the X-Men film series in 10…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Jackman_filmography_and_d…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Sheep Detectives is a 2026 mystery comedy film directed by Kyle Balda and written by Craig Mazin, based on the 2005 novel Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann. The film features an ensemble cast includ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sheep_Detectives

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story (original German title: Glennkill: Ein Schafskrimi) is a 2005 novel by Leonie Swann. It is a detective story featuring a flock of Irish sheep out to solve the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Bags_Full

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“Rebecca (Molly Gordon), George’s previously unknown daughter”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Although Molly Gordon is a known actress and the film exists, the provided evidence does not confirm her role as 'Rebecca' or her character's relationship to George.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Molly Gordon (born December 6, 1994) is an American actress, screenwriter and director. She started her career in supporting roles in the studio comedy films Life of the Party (2018), and Good Boys (2…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_Gordon

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Sheep Detectives is a 2026 mystery comedy film directed by Kyle Balda and written by Craig Mazin, based on the 2005 novel Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann. The film features an ensemble cast includ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sheep_Detectives

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story (original German title: Glennkill: Ein Schafskrimi) is a 2005 novel by Leonie Swann. It is a detective story featuring a flock of Irish sheep out to solve the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Bags_Full

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“Nearby competing shepherd Caleb (Tosin Cole)”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Tosin Cole is confirmed as an actor in Wikipedia, but the evidence provided does not link him to the character 'Caleb' in this specific film.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A list of comedy films originally released in the 2020s. Often there may be considerable overlap particularly between comedy and other genres (including, teen, adult, romance, drama, animation, and ac…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_comedy_films_of_the_20…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Sheep Detectives is a 2026 mystery comedy film directed by Kyle Balda and written by Craig Mazin, based on the 2005 novel Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann. The film features an ensemble cast includ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sheep_Detectives

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Tosin Cole (; born 23 July 1992) is a British actor. He is known for various roles in British television series and films. He began his on-screen career starring in The Cut and EastEnders: E20, later …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tosin_Cole

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“Reverend Hillcoate (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith)”

CORROBORATED

Both a Wikipedia entry and a web search result confirm Kobna Holdbrook-Smith plays Reverend Hillcoate (a priest).

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web search NEUTRAL — Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as a priest. Conleth Hill as a butcher. Mandeep Dhillon.The Sheep Detectives is scheduled to be released in the United States on 8 May 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sheep_Detectives

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web search NEUTRAL — Kobna Holdbrook-Smith plays the Rev. Hillcoate, a priest. Conleth Hill is Ham Gilyard, the town butcher.“The Sheep Detectives” was directed by Kyle Balda, and the screenplay was written by Craig Mazin…
https://www.thetelegraph.com/opinion/article/the-sheep-detec…

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web search NEUTRAL — The cleverest moment in The Sheep Detectives occurs before the movie even properly begins.It doesn’t help that the sheep characters, played up for maximum adorability, are portrayed via photorealistic…
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/sheep-de…

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“A bumbling local policeman played by Nicholas Braun”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim is mentioned in the original text, but the provided evidence for this claim only contains general information about the name 'Nicholas' and does not confirm Nicholas Braun's role as a policeman in the movie.

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web search NEUTRAL — Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek Νικόλαος, Nikolaos. It originally derived from a combination of two G…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas

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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 11, 2025 · Nicholas is most often used as a boy name. Learn more about the meaning, origin, and popularity of the name Nicholas.
https://www.parents.com/nicholas-name-meaning-origin-popular…

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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 23, 2024 · Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop from Anatolia who, according to legend, saved the daughters of a poor man from lives of prostitution. He is the patron saint of children, sailors…
https://www.behindthename.com/name/nicholas

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“a junior reporter named Elliot (Nicholas Galitzine)”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to support this claim.

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“Emma Thompson’s cold-blooded lawyer”

SINGLE SOURCE

One web search result (The Sheep Detectives - Wikipedia) mentions Emma Thompson as George's lawyer, but there is no corroboration for the 'cold-blooded' description from other sources.

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“Our Shear-lock Holmes is Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus)”

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“Brett Goldstein’s bro-y Reggie and Ronnie”

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“pompous old bird Sir Richfield (Patrick Stewart)”

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“brooding loner Sebastian (Bryan Cranston)”

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“Director Kyle Balda’s movie”

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““Babe” — a best picture Oscar nominee”

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“the chatty creatures — they are CGI rather than tactile puppets”

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‘The Sheep Detectives’ review: A killer is on the lamb in cute animal mystery movie

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