Long ago my book club read Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann. It was the only book we ever all agreed on – and we loved it. Now it’s been used as the basis of the Amazon movie The Sheep Detectives. I loved that too, but in a different way. For those that have read the book, the plot takes a very sharp left hand turn at Albequerque so it ends up in a very different place. One might even say the movie ending is more satisfying, but it deprives the audience of the pantomime scene which was one of my favourite bits.

For those who have never read the book, the story is about a flock of sheep whose shepherd is played by Hugh Jackman. He loves his sheep and reads them murder mysteries every night. One morning his sheep find him dead in front of his trailer and vow to discover the murder and bring him/her to justice. In the audiobook they all chant juuuuusssstisss in a very sheepy way – which is completely adorable.

The problem is, they’re sheep. They can talk to each other but the people around them only hear bah, bah, bah. They also have a very different way of thinking, and a limited understanding of the world beyond their meadow. All they know about the world outside is based on fiction. The results are hilarious. You can watch the trailer here.

If you’re wondering if the movie is appropriate for children, it’s around Bambi level for violence. There isn’t much, but it does pack a big emotional punch. There’s also some Rudolph level emotional violence and prejudice. Both forms of violence come to a good resolution though, so there is that to look forward to.