Storks - directed by Nicholas Stoller & Doug Sweetland
Animated movies are coming thick and fast this year and even after "Finding Dory", "The Secret Life of Pets", "Kung Fu Panda 3", "Zootopia", The Angry Birds Movie", "Kubo and the Two Strings" and um... "Sausage Party" we still have "Trolls", "Sing" and "Moana" to come.
Of that list of already released movies fully half made more than $500,000,000 with one of them making more than double that ("Zootopia")
"Storks" isn't likely to do anywhere near that kind of business and it's a pity because I liked it more than Dory, Pets and Kung Fu Panda 3.
The premise for "Storks" is problematic however.
This movie posits that as per the well known figure of speech babies did indeed used to be delivered by storks.
Literally large white birds would take babies wrapped in towels in beak and fly them to the homes of their eagerly awaiting parents.
After an incident involving a failed delivery the giant building in the sky that houses the stork baby delivering facility is left with an orphan child named Tulip and a diversified business model that now sees them out of the baby delivering business and into the anything but babies delivery business.
So Amazon then.
Now if you are like me you might think that this is a pretty cool idea for an animated movie and are wondering what is problematic about it.
Well, for one it tackles the very grown up thing of having a baby and as this film is very clearly aimed at children I would imagine the drive home from screenings will be beset by awkward questions.
Beyond this it also sets the film along a very serious path all while it tries to be light and funny.
This is evident when an interesting subplot about a Mother and Father who are so involved in their real estate business that they are all but ignoring their young son.
This young son desperately wants a brother - he is painfully lonely and longing for attention and company.
That the film drops this about half way through is perhaps an indication of how uncomfortably this theme sits in a movie about fluffy white birds and comical wolves (more on them shortly)
I was reminded of Pixar's brilliant "Inside Out" as I watched "Storks".
It doesn't come close to that film but that isn't to say that it isn't good - it really is.
It's just a step or two back from being truly special.
There is nothing wrong with the animation and the voice cast is superb.
I really liked the characters in this film and in particular the bizarre Pigeon Toady - a sort of sycophantic, devious little Smithers from The Simpsons kind of fellow but you know- a pigeon.
Andy Samberg and Katie Crown work very well together voicing Junior the Stork and Tulip the human orphan.
Of course Kelsey Grammer is commanding as the Stork CEO Hunter and Danny Trejo just as perfect as you want him to be as the unhinged Jasper- the bird responsible for that infamous missed delivery.
Some of the lines are likely to completely sail over the heads of children but will land very nicely with their guardians I would think.
Given that one is a sly reference to Mark Wahlberg in "Boogie Nights" this is probably just as well!
So, oddly even though it is the script that ultimately stops this film from being one of the greats it turns out that this failing is not the usual killer blow that a shoddy script often is.
The basic plot is fine after all - it is the finer detail and the oh-so important theme that is lacking.
The thing is "Storks" has enough goofy humour in it to keep things ticking along rather nicely.
Samberg slips in some pee jokes, there's a very funny exchange between the child and his neglectful Father as the young man lays some serious guilt on him by way of half heard comments and then there's the wolves.
You've probably seen these guys on the trailer doing their 'wolf pack - the form of a submarine!' schtick.
Well that is only a tiny piece of what thes nutty mutts get up to.
I loved the character design with their eyes too close together and every time they pulled off an ever more ridiculous 'form of' routine (a suspension bridge!!?) I was giggling.
The laughs per minute ratio puts a lot of far more financially successful animated flicks to shame.
Kelsey Grammer's Hunter using tiny birds as executive toys ranging from ball and paddle, Newton's Cradle and stress balls is marvelously, hilariously cruel.
An ongoing 'mind blown' montage works really well too and look for a terrific penguin 'documentary' gag.
I genuinely enjoyed this film more than "Finding Dory" and I laughed an order of magnitude more times than I did during the mediocre "The Secret Life of Pets".
Its recipe seems to be keep the laughs coming and don't stress the smart scripty-stuff too much but it still manages to inject plenty of intelligence into the humour regardless.
And some good old fashioned dumb funny bits as well.
Yes- it could have taken the ideas of consumerism and work-life balance to greater places and it would undoubtedly have been a 'better' movie for it but as it stands it entertains very well.
The film is frequently stunningly pretty to look at too with some excellent lighting and that impressive character design.
If you go into this film expecting another "Zootopia" or "Inside Out" you will be disappointed.
But if you are thinking more "Angry Birds" or "Minions" you are in the right ballpark.
"Storks" is plenty entertaining enough.
I liked it.
RATING: 74 / 100
CONCLUSION: A lesser example from a genre that of late has produced some amazingly well written movies but this is still well worth a look.
Starring: Andy Samberg, Katie Crown, Ty Burrell, Jennifer Aniston, Kelsey Grammer, Anton Starkman, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Danny Trejo, Ike Barinholtz, Stephen Kramer Glickman, Christopher Nicholas Smith,
Screenplay: Nicholas Stoller
Music Score by: Jeff Danna & Mychael Danna
Cinematography: Simon Dunsdon
Cinematography: Simon Dunsdon
Edited by: John Venzon
Running Time: 92 minutes
Language: English
Rated: G - Some Themes that may cause questions from young children!
Running Time: 92 minutes
Language: English
Rated: G - Some Themes that may cause questions from young children!
Of that list of already released movies fully half made more than $500,000,000 with one of them making more than double that ("Zootopia")
"Storks" isn't likely to do anywhere near that kind of business and it's a pity because I liked it more than Dory, Pets and Kung Fu Panda 3.
The premise for "Storks" is problematic however.
This movie posits that as per the well known figure of speech babies did indeed used to be delivered by storks.
Literally large white birds would take babies wrapped in towels in beak and fly them to the homes of their eagerly awaiting parents.
After an incident involving a failed delivery the giant building in the sky that houses the stork baby delivering facility is left with an orphan child named Tulip and a diversified business model that now sees them out of the baby delivering business and into the anything but babies delivery business.
So Amazon then.
Now if you are like me you might think that this is a pretty cool idea for an animated movie and are wondering what is problematic about it.
Well, for one it tackles the very grown up thing of having a baby and as this film is very clearly aimed at children I would imagine the drive home from screenings will be beset by awkward questions.
Beyond this it also sets the film along a very serious path all while it tries to be light and funny.
This is evident when an interesting subplot about a Mother and Father who are so involved in their real estate business that they are all but ignoring their young son.
This young son desperately wants a brother - he is painfully lonely and longing for attention and company.
That the film drops this about half way through is perhaps an indication of how uncomfortably this theme sits in a movie about fluffy white birds and comical wolves (more on them shortly)
 |
| Andy Samberg as Junior and Katie Crown as the Orphan Tulip ('Just Tulip.... Orphan hearts my heart!') |
It doesn't come close to that film but that isn't to say that it isn't good - it really is.
It's just a step or two back from being truly special.
There is nothing wrong with the animation and the voice cast is superb.
I really liked the characters in this film and in particular the bizarre Pigeon Toady - a sort of sycophantic, devious little Smithers from The Simpsons kind of fellow but you know- a pigeon.
Andy Samberg and Katie Crown work very well together voicing Junior the Stork and Tulip the human orphan.
Of course Kelsey Grammer is commanding as the Stork CEO Hunter and Danny Trejo just as perfect as you want him to be as the unhinged Jasper- the bird responsible for that infamous missed delivery.
Some of the lines are likely to completely sail over the heads of children but will land very nicely with their guardians I would think.
Given that one is a sly reference to Mark Wahlberg in "Boogie Nights" this is probably just as well!
 |
| Kelsey Grammer as the marvellously cruel Hunter (left) and Danny Trejo as Jasper |
The basic plot is fine after all - it is the finer detail and the oh-so important theme that is lacking.
The thing is "Storks" has enough goofy humour in it to keep things ticking along rather nicely.
Samberg slips in some pee jokes, there's a very funny exchange between the child and his neglectful Father as the young man lays some serious guilt on him by way of half heard comments and then there's the wolves.
You've probably seen these guys on the trailer doing their 'wolf pack - the form of a submarine!' schtick.
Well that is only a tiny piece of what thes nutty mutts get up to.
I loved the character design with their eyes too close together and every time they pulled off an ever more ridiculous 'form of' routine (a suspension bridge!!?) I was giggling.
The laughs per minute ratio puts a lot of far more financially successful animated flicks to shame.
Kelsey Grammer's Hunter using tiny birds as executive toys ranging from ball and paddle, Newton's Cradle and stress balls is marvelously, hilariously cruel.
An ongoing 'mind blown' montage works really well too and look for a terrific penguin 'documentary' gag.
 |
| The wolf pack is a highlight of the film - another is Pigeon Toady |
Its recipe seems to be keep the laughs coming and don't stress the smart scripty-stuff too much but it still manages to inject plenty of intelligence into the humour regardless.
And some good old fashioned dumb funny bits as well.
Yes- it could have taken the ideas of consumerism and work-life balance to greater places and it would undoubtedly have been a 'better' movie for it but as it stands it entertains very well.
The film is frequently stunningly pretty to look at too with some excellent lighting and that impressive character design.
If you go into this film expecting another "Zootopia" or "Inside Out" you will be disappointed.
But if you are thinking more "Angry Birds" or "Minions" you are in the right ballpark.
"Storks" is plenty entertaining enough.
I liked it.
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