Sometimes, children’s movies really are just for kids, with the kind of simplistic flash and noise created for distraction rather than art or emotion. And sometimes, children’s movies are really for adults (and, of course, interested and discerning children). Kyle Balda’s enchanting “The Sheep Detectives,” a live-action (with effectively fluffy CGI sheep) comedy written by Craig Mazin and based on Leonie Swann’s 2005 novel “Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story,” fits nicely into the latter category.

Its premise — a group of sheep in a small British town band together to solve a crime involving their beloved shepherd — is undeniably adorable, and its messages about friendship, loyalty, courage and even death are surprisingly moving. And, if you’ve been waiting your entire life for a movie in which Sir Patrick Stewart voices an extremely dignified sheep, I’m delighted to inform you that your time has come.

Shepherd George (Hugh Jackman, at his most charming — which means many, many bales of charm) is a happy man. He lives in his tiny trailer on a vast green field, lovingly tending his flock — all of whom have individual names and personalities — and knowing “the kind of peace that only shepherds know.” Every evening, he ends the day with a ritual: dramatically reading chapters from his favorite crime-fiction novels to the flock, who gather around to listen alertly. Suddenly, not long into the movie, something terrible happens: George is found dead outside his trailer one morning, and the grieving sheep quickly realize that the inept local cop (Nicholas Braun) isn’t up to the job. Lily (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus), the brightest of the sheep, reminds the others that “in the stories, someone else has to come along to solve the crime.”

And off we go, on an adventure led by Lily, patient sheep Mopple (Chris O’Dowd) and cynical sheep Sebastian (Bryan Cranston), with a vast supporting flock behind them. (I was particularly fond of a pair of Cockney-toned ram brothers, both voiced by Brett Goldstein, who can’t always control their need to bash. And the tiny misfit winter lamb, voiced by Tommy Birchall, couldn’t be sweeter.) Among the human cast, Emma Thompson is underused but delightful as a posh attorney, Hong Chau is a local innkeeper with a mysterious vendetta against George and Nicholas Galitzine is an eager young journalist thrilled to have an actual small-town murder mystery to cover.

The film is full of throwaway funny bits (a chicken, at one point, teaches the sheep how to cross the road), but what really lingers after “The Sheep Detectives” is its tone: earnest, uncomplicated sweetness, rooted in the love that we — whether human or sheep — have for those with whom we share our lives, and a gentle acceptance of loss as part of that love. “In time,” Lily says, speaking of the loss of George, “all that’s left is all that’s good.” I didn’t expect to get genuine wisdom about grief from a cute sheep movie, but here we are. And did I mention that Stewart’s sheep is named Sir Ritchfield? Move over, Shaun the Sheep — we’ve got some new ovine stars in town.

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'THE SHEEP DETECTIVES'

3.5 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: PG (for thematic material, some violent content and brief language)

Running time: 1:43

How to watch: In theaters May 8

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