Hi, this is Influence Pas coming to you from a meeting of The Flock Folk where we are talking to Roi Poimena. He will be sharing his thoughts on the cinematic sensation, The Sheep Detectives. Please Mr. Poimena, share your thoughts about this celebrated movie.  

Roi Poimena – Thank you Influence, the critics and the studio’s spin-doctors have it right, it is a fun move to watch. It is a solid mystery movie that keeps you interested till the credits roll. There is enough comedy and slapstick in the movie to make it an enjoyable watch. The animation is excellent with the sheep, dogs, and clouds carrying the story. The human actors were great, and they brought wonderful performances to this movie. The secondary themes and social comments were added beautifully in the script and blended into the mystery flawlessly.  

Influence Pas – Well Mr. Poimena, what themes and social comments did you see and how were they blended into the story?

Roi Poimena – Since you seem surprised at that statement, that tells me how good of a job they did, and that their presentation was not totally in-your-face as many films lately have been. It is always better to introduce activism slowly, even it if takes a long time to get what you want. This first one is mild and open to debated, but it could be important. Do the sheep represent a family or a community? I would say a community, but that leads to the reading question that is so important to the story. Does the daily reading represent parents reading to their children or equal education to all? Then there is the delightful way that stereotypes were portrayed and used in the flock and human population; one slip here and people would be bleating foul.

Influence Pas – Surely, education and exposing stereotypes are important.

Roi Poimena – I will come back to that, but some of the charm of this movie is the incorporation of facts; like orf, that is a real disease and a problem for sheep. Then did you question the sheep’s ability to see color? They do see some colors, specifically blue, green, and yellow; red is the color that is an issue. Winter lambs are a major part of this movie, but are they a problem? Of course, that depends on who you talk to, some shepherds want lambs in winter, but they can present problems if they are in the wrong environment.

Another charming idea is that all sheep become clouds; it is a reoccurring theme and allows for several views to be exploited. It was interesting that sheep become clouds, but their shepherd had a ghost. This is just one of several religious themes that run through this movie. But Sabastian being a cloud was a nice symbolic end for him.   

Influence Pas – What is wrong with a happy ending?

Roi Poimena – Nothing, but is that how the story handles it, or is the cloud issue used to show a flaw in the flock’s belief system? Sabastian’s death is important in the story and has a huge effect on the naive members of the flock. When Lily tries to share death with the flock, they chose to pull wool over their eyes, forget, and continue as before. Know how you would explain this serious subject to a grieving child.

Influence Pas – Well, since Sabastian is so important to the story, enlighten us with your thoughts on that character.

Roi Poimena – Sabastian is the ‘George’ of the flock. He is a mixed bag of metaphors, but to remove one of them would not go well in the story line. His ‘black sheep’ characterization runs deeper than color. Initially, he is the loner who is looking down on the flock; he is tolerated/accepted but does not consider himself part of the flock. The two ‘murders’ don’t like him, but they don’t like George either. As the story progresses, he is revealed as a winter lamb who has grown up with the hurt, and that rejection led to his abuse. The winter lamb label may connect him to Jesus, but the self-sacrifice certainly makes him a savior-figure.

Influence Pas – Why bring Jesus and religion into this movie; it is such a nice movie?

Roi Poimena – The writers included Sabastian and Lily’s conversation in the graveyard about church. Sabastian’s part includes many comments that have been used to question and mock Christianity; most of them are part of Christian belief. Unfortunately, many Christians still do not know how to talk about these thoughts. They never mention the name of Jesus in the movie, and I am not sure about the phrase good shepherd. Lily’s statements/questions are really the social comments here: “What is church?” and “Poor God!”.

George’s character has contempt against the church and pastor which is plain in his timing to pay his debt. His offense with the church started when he used it to tend to his little lambs. Then the pastor in the village did wrong because of the money and became a bad shepherd, but he appears to have had a change of heart. We know George offered the money and the pastor justified the bribe. The congregation was a sore spot and filled with everyone who became a suspect named in his will.

Influence Pas – Where do you get the idea that the pastor changed his mind?

Roi Poimena – There were two rolls of cash in the cupboard, the first one was never spent, but not returned. That will speak to George’s two children.

Influence Pas – Mr. Poimena, what do you make of George being a vegan?

Roi Poimena – Ms. Pas, George was not a vegan but a vegetarian. It seems he earned his living from the wool before he developed his cure and became wealthy. Two stereotypes are revealed in the angry words that George and the butcher share for each other.

Influence Pas – Okay, do you have anything to say about George’s daughter?

Roi Poimena – The movie starts and ends with Rebecca, who was a shepherdess in the Bible, and something written by George. She is a winter lamb because of her life in America. Her grand entrance at the end invokes thoughts of Little Bo Peep. I do have to wonder just how much they are alike?

Both the nursey rhyme and the movie are sweet and charming, but what are the hidden messages that may not match what we see.

Influence Pas – Thank you Mr. Poimena for your time and the, uh thought provoking responses. This is Influence Pas at The Flock Folk meeting.