The Angry Birds Movie

Voices of: Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Bill Hader, Peter Dinklage, Sean Penn, Keegan-Michael Key, Kate McKinnon, Tony Hale, Hannibal Burress, Ike Barinholtz, Tituss Burgess, Jillian Bell, Blake Shelton
Directed by: Clay Kaytis, Fergal Reilly
Rating: PG
Genre: Animation, Action, Comedy
2016

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An angry, outcast bird (Jason Sudeikis) is called to help when Pigs invade the Bird island

Review:

Tim: I was actually looking forward to this movie because (and I'm not ashamed to admit this), I was obsessed with "Angry Birds" when the game came out. It took me a while to get into it, but I loved playing it and ultimately amassed one of the highest scores in the world (seriously). Eventually I stopped playing because life and all, but I've always retained a soft spot in my heart for those furious fowls. I really wasn't sure how they were going to make a 97 minute movie about it, but I was interested in seeing if they'd succeed.

I'd chalk this movie up as an okay animated film. There are some hilarious moments (Are we communicating telepathically?, I thought you said you stored your nuts for winter) throughout the film. I don't want to gloss over that- there's some truly funny moments in the script. Well written lines, humorous gags- this movie definitely has some of those. The problem is that those are the minority and for every line that hits home, there's half a dozen that miss their marks. That adds up to a disappointing conclusion. Yes, I did laugh on occasion here, but more often I groaned or rolled my eyes.

The biggest problem is that in an attempt to cater to fans of the game, the movie makes all these odd choices that don't contribute to the movie (and in fact, detract from it), purely so that fans of the game will see the connections. For example, the white bird "shoots fireballs out of her butt". This isn't funny, nor is it especially relevant to the story. However, it's true to the game, so we get it in the film. There's even more egregious examples. I'm all for films staying true to their source material, but there such a thing as being too close. If a decision is made to put in an easter egg that doesn't further the plot or contribute to the overall quality of the movie, then it shouldn't be in the film. The Angry Birds Movie was guiltier of this than most movies and it decreased the quality of the film.

The voice cast was pretty good. I still don't like Jason Sudeikis, but he worked well in the lead role. I get that he was probably well cast, but there's just something in his smugness that turns me off. Josh Gad did a really good job as Chuck and made the film funnier with his energy. Danny McBride contributed a lot less than I would have expected. He was fine, but he's a funny guy but just didn't reach the heights he should have. I like Peter Dinklage and suppose he was fine as Mighty Eagle. The rest of the cast was fine, but it's kind of ridiculous Sean Penn was in this film for basically one line.

The animation was fine- there's moments where it feels quite impressive, but there's other moments where the movie just feels too crammed. Overall, it didn't really add or detract from the film. The story is likewise fine. It's somewhat clever how they built a 90+ minute story out of the basic structure of the game. It was somewhat impressive, but it also required you to just go along with it. I can't help but think the story would have made more sense and would have been more engaging had it departed more from the source material. The way it unfolded, there's moments where you say, "Oh, I see how they tied that part of the game in" but you'd also think, "But that actually makes zero sense in the context of this story." That, more than anything else, sinks the movie.

While there were moments of The Angry Birds Movie that I thoroughly enjoyed, the movie as a whole is severely flawed. I'd consider this a disappointing animated movie, a lackluster entry. Whereas some truly impressive animated films are coming out these days, this one belongs in the bargain bin. There's nothing special about this movie. That might not be enough to get angry about, but it's certainly disappointing.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6



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