The Angry Birds Movie Review

May 17

Preview

PG: Action and Rude Humor

Columbia Pictures, Rovio Animation

1 hr and 37 Minutes

Voice Cast: Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Bill Hader, Peter Dinklage, Kate McKinnon, Sean Penn, Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Jillian Bell, Titus Burgess, Billy Eichner, Hannibal Buress, Ike Barinholtz, Max Charles, Jillian Bell, Romeo Santos with Cristela Alonzo, and Smosh

In the 3D animated comedy, The Angry Birds Movie, we'll finally find out why the birds are so angry. The movie takes us to an island populated entirely by happy, flightless birds - or almost entirely. In this paradise, Red (Jason Sudeikis), a bird with a temper problem, speedy Chuck (Josh Gad), and the volatile Bomb (Danny McBride) have always been outsiders. But when the island is visited by mysterious green piggies, it's up to these unlikely outcasts to figure out what the pigs are up to.

REVIEW: All those times you purchased for powerups, all those times you purchased to use Mighty Eagle when all else failed in your level, all of those times led to this. Thanks to you guys buying all the things because you’re the reason why we got this film right here. You’re the reason why we have The Angry Birds Movie here. Right after the failure of Ratchet and Clank, you would think a film like this is to automatically suck as much as that did. Let's just say this is Citizen Kane compared to Ratchet and Clank.

THE GOOD: Right off the bat, the Angry Birds Movie displays bright and stellar animation. The anthropomorphic designs to the simplistic characters we played on the app. They manage to still have the same eye shapes and more expression. The designs are rather pretty impressive. The animation is very frantic too yet the movie is cinematic. It's very similar to the Despicable Me films. They're movies and feel like movies, but the animation is way too silly to accept the fact it is a movie. The movie is paced very fast and does deliver a story that is much more than you would expect from a film that just looks like a blatant cash grab. It is a story that does feel like the Native Americans and Pilgrim story and does have a good lesson that you would never see in a kids film. You never see a family film with a lesson being that anger is a good thing. Like it or not you have to commend it for it. Plus the movie has a good heart behind it. The ending does is genuinely heartwarming that is earned.

There are three characters that really stand out in this film, being Red, Chuck, and Terence. With Red, he is the definition of angry. Wait did I say angry? I meant pissed. From the get go the way how Red just gets pissed off when he's pushed over the edge is hilarious. When Red gets angry he just straight up roasts you. Jason Sudeikis does a great job voicing the popular bird that started all of the phenomenon.

With Josh Gad as Chuck, he is.....Josh Gad and its perfect. He is very random, zippy, and just a straight up wild card. You don't know what he'll do or say next and most of the time it's very very funny. And Sean Penn (who is known for being a real angry dude) is doing only growls, but it's hysterical how many times they milk the joke. It doesn't go on too long, but every time he is onscreen you get a genuine hard laugh of the things they make him do.

When the third act comes into play with the birds slingshotting themselves, It is used effectively for the sake of family fun entertainment. Though some characters don't display some of the powers they're known for *cough* Stella *cough*, the majority of it is visually stunning.

THE BAD: With a movie based on a game, you can compliment it for expanding its small premise to a feature film for so long. Its a shame that after the film gets going it has absolutely no idea what it wants to do. It just lingers and relies on gags and cutaways until another plot point comes. It just turns incredibly pointless at times and you question why you're there [mainly when introduced to Mighty Eagle] .Granted most of the material in the first 30 minutes is comedically clever, there is not much of story to tell. It does have it's moments where it satirizes regular movie tropes, but that humor is in small doses. The humor is very scatterbrained too. After the first 30 minutes when the pigs arrive, the film just goes full out lazy with nothing but unnecessary pop culture references in the form of dumb visual gags, dated and generic musical numbers that doesn't fit the film, and bad puns (a pig's name is Jon Hamm). There are even several jokes that are very inappropriate for kids to an extent it gets Cat in the Hat creepy including a very long pee joke, a sex joke, and a pedophile joke. Granted those jokes are funny they're more appropriatefor a group of kids that grew up watching Ren & Stimpy though we are in an age where kids watch Sanjay & Craig. For a Simpsons veteran writer, Jon Vitti's writing for this film is very similar to an episode of Family Guy (and not the good ones).

It is a huge shame that this film has a very large and notable cast and they're barely part of the movie. You have Smosh in here. Why? They're ANGRY BIRDS! LIKE LEGIT ANGRY BIRDS CHARACTERS AND THEY AREN'T DOING ANYTHING! Hannibal Burress and Jillian Bell are in here for approximately 3 minutes and then he's gone. The cast is full of comedians and they're not in play. The only characters that have roles are Sudekis, Gad, McBride, Rudolph, Penn, Key, Dinklage and Hader. Other than them you have just celebrities voicing characters that just fly over your head. Like they could be considered as celebrity voice cameos.

LAST STATEMENT: Though it may be pointless in accounts of storytelling in more ways than others, The Angry Birds Movie benefits from a good voice cast, bright and beautiful animation, and very funny and charming moments.

Rating: 2.5/5| 55%