From the studio that brought us “The LEGO Movie,” it’s “Storks.” It may be unconventional, but turning time-honored children’s stories into films is a well-worn approach. Now, we get a movie that shows us how… babies are delivered? Yeah, good luck with the car ride home after this one, parents.
“Storks” is about what happened after storks decided to stop delivering babies. They were annoying, loud and messy, so why not deliver packages instead? Enter Junior, the perfect employee, who is to be his boss’s replacement when he is promoted.
All he has to do is fire an orphan who works with the Storks, named Tulip. But when the two end up with the first baby to be delivered in years, hijinks ensue and they have to deliver the baby before anyone finds out and Junior loses his position.
Problems begin for the film, and the duo, once the annoying Pigeon character is introduced. All of his scenes are loud and annoying, and if he were removed outright, the film wouldn’t have changed.
Dialogue is also a bit of an issue, though not as much. Jokes land for the most part and a lot of them are aimed at adults. Parents are more likely to be laughing at moments where characters freak out about their speed in a mini-van when they have the child or where Junior and Tulip argue about who needs to stay up and watch the baby.
But when the jokes don’t land, they thud. In another case of stuffing annoying, twenty-first century lingo into kid’s movies, “Storks” also loves pop culture references and to say words like “convo” and “IRL.” It drags down some fabulously clever jokes and moments.
Set pieces are where the film shines. Since “Storks” isn’t as visually detailed as “The LEGO Movie,” the animators get to use this to create huge and expansive scenes; mountains and buildings are massive, showing a great sense of scope.
Some highlights of these set pieces include a wolf pack that can take the form of various modes of transportation, a silent fight sequence as the baby is sleeping. Moments like this are entertaining and funny, showing the clever spirit of wacky, self-aware animation that put the new Warner Animation Group on the map.
The unfortunate issue is that while the dialogue is funny and the set pieces are enjoyable, there are lulls in between that don’t really do anything for the story or character development. A story thread introduced fairly early about Tulip’s past is solved in what is a total of 10 minutes of screen time, and the film’s plot is overall familiar for anyone who has seen films like “Ice Age” or “Monsters Inc.”
The movie has an entertaining cast and in the final moments of the film, we also see the attempts at diversity that are made. The audience sees couples from all over the world with different ethnicities and various combinations of mommies and daddies.
The sweeter, more caring moments of “Storks” bring its true wonderfulness to the surface, as it is a story about parents and family. While this is not a new message for animated films, it delivers it admirably with a wink and a nod to the ones who bought the tickets, namely the parents.
The viewer can see that Nicholas Stoller, the man behind the more adult films “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “Neighbors” and “The Five Year Engagement,” has attempted to make an animated film for parents. He largely succeeds in this goal, but its bigger messages get lost under the movie's hyperactivity and pop culture references. Stellar voice performances from the entire cast, some very funny dialogue and incredibly funny set piece moments helps “Storks” land relatively easily, although not without some turbulence on the flight.
3.9/5 stars
Photo Courtesy of Warner Animation Group, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Pictures.
