The Angry Birds Movie (2016)

Find out why the birds are so angry. When an island populated by happy, flightless birds is visited by mysterious green piggies, it's up to three unlikely outcasts- Red, Chuck and Bomb- to figure out what the pigs are up to (Source- Imdb.com)

The Angry Birds Movie Trailer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpw37HP1e1U

Because of the kindness of my heart, I made plans to watch The Angry Birds Movie with my young cousin who previously mentioned how she was so eager to watch this movie months beforehand. While she was happy to see the movie going into it, I was skeptical on how this cartoon will present itself on the big screen. 

I figured I wouldn't be pleased with how the creators of The Angry Birds Movie would handle what material they had to make a full length movie. After all, this film was influenced by the popular mobile game app, "Angry Birds" where the objective is to knock down green pigs with random birds, and depending on which bird you use, you receive a special ability that would help in defeating the pigs. I couldn't really imagine how Angry Birds the game could be made in an hour and 37 long minute movie, but I took the risk and watched it anyways.

(Poster for the Angry Birds Game)

So, did this film get me angrier than the red bird on the poster or was I surprisingly calm and happy throughout my viewing experience? 

The Angry Birds Movie surprised me with its ability to throw a fairly cohesive story about the war between the birds and the pigs. The conflict for the story helps give a reason as to why birds-of all creatures-are being thrown at pigs instead of just flying to them. The fact that the birds can't fly really helps strengthen the moral the movie tries to send to its audience, which is to not stick yourself to one place and try new things. That and two other morals that may not have been intended, but I believe deserves a mention in my spoilers section below. 

The backgrounds for the characters were simple but also made them into very different people instead of grouping main character Red (Jason Sudiekis) as just an angry bird along with other main characters, the yellow and speedy Chuck (Josh Gad) and the big and compassionate Bomb (Danny McBride). 

The animation designs for each bird is very clean-cut and polished. I found myself finding almost every bird adorable because of their character designs. The variety of color does not hurt the viewer's eyes as most of the colors are mostly pastel looking so it's not hard to look at the screen. 

The humor of the movie is what made me enjoy this film the most, as it provides an older audience with plenty of dark and subliminal adult humor that the kids would probably miss. However, certain jokes can be almost be too adult, including a scene where a bird is eager to re-populate the island as he pumps his hips back and forth. Also, there are a couple words like, "sucks" and "crap" in the movie, but it's only announced once or twice and goes by super quickly, so there is no pause in the movie to let those words sink in. 

Personally, I wouldn't be too worried about this, the little ones would be laughing more at the characters' weird expressions and movements rather than focus on what they're really implying. The only joke I didn't enjoy was one that involved urinating and that scene goes on for about 30 seconds as you go back and forth seeing and hearing someone urinate. 

I really didn't expect myself to like this movie. I went in thinking it was a cheap ratings trap to grab all the kids who played their game to watch something terrible and torture the parents as they do so. But I was laughing multiple times and I didn't find nothing horrible about it. There are moments that are fast-paced but still allow you to slow down and take in the situation at hand. The animation is very cute and clean, the characters are great and I found myself liking every single bird, and the story was simple and to the point. 

If you're a parent and your child is begging you to see The Angry Birds Movie, my advice to you is: as long as your kid has been behaving, then go right ahead and take them to see this, you might just enjoy it yourself. For someone who is just a fan of cartoons, go ahead too. It's a easy movie to follow that will have you laughing in your seat. I'd say 4/5 Stars. 

Last thing, if you're taking a kid to the movie, please keep them in their seat. When I went to the theater, there were two kids running and dancing in the front row, jumping from seat to seat. Good thing they weren't screaming their butt off or else I would have really gotten angry. But for you parents or guardians out there taking a kid, other people do notice when your child is acting out and we don't appreciate it.

WARNING: SPOILERS!

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My top 3 favorite jokes in the movie: 

1- Red says to another bird as he watched a bunch of baby birds, "Ever used Bird Control?" 

That made me chuckle, but it was near the beginning of the movie and it could be easy to miss. In case you missed it, pay close attention next time when the baby birds are crossing the street and Red has to wait a long time.

2- Climbing up the Wrong Mountain

This joke wasn't complete without Bomb crying overnight on top of a mountain over the fact that him, Red and Chuck climbed the wrong mountain and they had to encourage him to come back down so they could climb the other one together.

3- Laurence's Crime

That whole brief scene made me laugh the hardest. That menacing glare in that fat bird's face, the police sirens, the woman screaming, the eerie music all while his anger management instructor, Matilda reads his crime file. That part was perfectly in tune with my kind of humor.

The two morals I wanted to mention was how first, the movie helps kids not always rely on their heroes. After Red meets his childhood hero, The Mighty Eagle, only to find out he was a lazy bird who was conceited and didn't plan on doing big things for himself, Red rightfully tells him off saying something along the lines of, "You're the only bird that can fly, and yet you're too afraid to do it" 

That line there stuck with me because it reveals the reality of life. Not all heroes are as great as we deem them out to be, they are just as human as we are and they can get tired and lazy. Thus, we can't wait for them to show us what to do, if we want something done the best person to turn to is yourself.

Secondly, the other moral I liked even more was how you must know when to be and not be angry. Red and his anger management friends seemed like the only birds on the island who ever got even a little angry, whilst the others see anger as something negative and unheard of. 

It is true that anger can provoke the worst out of people and the movie addresses this, they make an attempt to show kids that always being angry over the past or a mistake or anything won't solve your problems, yet if you need to accomplish something that is majorly important-like saving hundreds of eggs for example-then we can't sit around and act like everything is okay. You need to be determined and passionate to do what you must, and sometimes that takes a little bit of anger. 

I may not be explaining this to the best of my ability but, the point is, this moral speaks a lot to many people and I hope they recognize it when they watch this movie.

If you sticked around for the end credits where the birds and pigs dance, you can clearly hear the leader pig saying he's hatching another scheme to defeat the birds. Also,  after the dance scene, the triplets who were saved by Red in the end use a slingshot to fly into the sky and separate in three directions. I'm pretty sure that's some special power in the Angry Birds game and due to these two scenes, I'm sure they're plotting a sequel, something I'm not too keen on but I'm holding out hope that it will still have the originality and humor that this first movie offered.