I love it when a movie sneaks up on me and winds up being far better than I ever expected it might be. Much to my delight, cozy mystery The Sheep Detectives turned out to be one such film. While the exposition dump at the beginning was a little bit slow—though necessary—after that every moment of this movie was an absolute delight and I cannot recommend it enough.

George Hardy (Hugh Jackman) lives a simple life, tending to his flock of sheep on the outskirts of Denbrook, England. He adores his animals and treats them with the utmost care, even reading mystery novels to them each night, regardless of whether they can understand him or not. As you might have guessed from the film’s title, they do, and one of them, Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is even pretty good at figuring out the endings.

One morning, the sheep awaken and discover George dead in the field. They are of course heartbroken, but when they begin to suspect that he was murdered, they decide to focus their energies on solving the crime. Bumbling local police officer Tim Derry (Nicholas Braun) ultimately reaches the same conclusion, and with assistance from visiting reporter Elliot Matthews (Nicholas Galitzine) and the sheep, he sets about trying to find the killer.

The suspects include local priest Reverend Hillcoate (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith), innkeeper Beth Pennock (Hong Chau), neighboring shepherd Caleb Merrow (Tosin Cole), town butcher Ham Gilyard (Conleth Hill), George’s daughter Rebecca Hampstead (Molly Gordon), and his lawyer Lydia Harbottle (Emma Thompson). Each seems to be hiding something and most appear to have a motive for the murder, but with Derry running the investigation the killer just might be able to get away with it, unless the sheep can do something about it.

Both the live-action and voice casts are delightful. Everyone clearly has a lot of affection for the material and it shows through in their performances. Louis-Dreyfus is as wonderful as ever, but her sheepmates Bryan Cranston, Patrick Stewart, Regina Hall, Brett Goldstein, Chris O’Dowd, Bella Ramsey, and Rhys Darby inject so much personality into each wonderfully rendered CGI animal that you’ll fall in love with the entire flock.

Adapted by Craig Mazin (The Last of Us, Chernobyl), from a German novel by Leonie Swann, the script is nearly flawless, anchored by an excellently plotted, fair-play mystery. Everything one would need to solve the case is there, though the answer will likely still elude many. But there’s also a surprising amount of heart as well. Tackling the pain of loss, the importance of remembrance, and the value of acceptance with genuine insight and a remarkable amount of pathos, the movie moved me in ways I was not prepared for going in, and seemed to have a similar effect on many of my fellow moviegoers.

Director Kyle Balda got his start in the animation department before helming hit toons like Minions and Despicable Me 3, with this being his first live-action feature, and he acquits himself well. There isn’t anything showy about his filmmaking style, but it’s well-suited to the genre. His computer animation experience explains why the sheep look so believably real while showing an impossible range of expressions and his attention to detail similarly makes the town of Denbrook feel alive. It’s so well-crafted as to even include easily missed but charming details, like the proliferation of locally crafted neon signage.

All of this comes together to take what could have been a slight amusement and make it one of the best movies of the year so far. Full of charm, with an amiable sense of humor, and a heart the size of a sheep, it’s nearly impossible not to be won over. The story doesn’t necessarily demand a sequel, but I’d be lying if I said a part of me didn’t eagerly want to return to the world they’ve created here. At least we’ve been gifted with this woolly wonder of a film, a total charmer through and through. ★★★★★

RATED PG FOR THEMATIC MATERIAL, SOME VIOLENT CONTENT, AND BRIEF LANGUAGE.

★★★★★ = Excellent | ★★★★ = Very Good | ★★★ = Good | ★★ = Fair | ★ = Poor