MOVIE OF THE WEEK #2 (9/23/16): STORKS
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| "As you can clearly see here, making an animated movie will create a spike in revenue unless the sequel stinks. Whaddya mean this is the original so we haven't gotten to the sequel yet?!" Junior (voiced by Andy Samberg) stares as Hunter (voiced by Kelsey Grammar) goes over the numbers in a scene from STORKS. Credit: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. |
WRITER(S): Nicolas Stoller
DIRECTOR(S): Nicolas Stoller and Doug Sweetland
DIRECTOR(S): Nicolas Stoller and Doug Sweetland
WEB SITE: http://www.storksmovie.com/
HERE'S THE STORY: Junior (voiced by Andy Samberg) is a stork. And for Junior, life is good because business is good. Business is good because he is a top employee at Cornerstore.com, an Amazon.com-like business that delivers packages to humans worldwide. And business is also good because Hunter (voiced by Kelsey Grammar) got storks out of the baby delivering business 18 years ago. The fact that a stork named Jasper (voiced by Danny Trejo – yes, THAT Danny Trejo) went rogue and tried to keep a baby instead of delivering one helped shut down that aspect of the business, too. Anyway ...
Now up for a promotion, Junior only has to do one thing to secure it: "Liberate" Tulip (voiced by Katie Crown), the orphan who the storks got stuck with when Jasper lost it years ago. Tulip – who is turning 18 – wants to help the storks (and other flightless birds) as best she can around the office, which usually results in a disaster. Not having the heart to fire her, Junior sticks Tulip into the letter sorting office, which is a dead end job since the storks haven't gotten a letter in years after getting out of the baby delivery game.
Given the circumstances, it's only then natural that little Nate Gardner (voiced by Anton Starkman) wants a little brother to play with since his workaholic realtor parents (voiced by Jennifer Aniston and Ty Burrell, respectively) are always too busy for him. Finding a stork pamphlet in the attic, Nate writes a letter to the storks ... And guess who inadvertently ends up causing a crisis when she operates the long-dormant baby-making machine, requiring her still-hoping-to-be-promoted co-worker to join her in attempting to quietly deliver the "package" to Nate's address?
Throw in some very industrious wolves (voiced by Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key), ultimate bro-bird Pigeon Toady (Stephen Kramer Glickman) and some general unpredictableness and you've got the makings of an animated adventure that is truly for the birds.
HERE'S THE STORY: Junior (voiced by Andy Samberg) is a stork. And for Junior, life is good because business is good. Business is good because he is a top employee at Cornerstore.com, an Amazon.com-like business that delivers packages to humans worldwide. And business is also good because Hunter (voiced by Kelsey Grammar) got storks out of the baby delivering business 18 years ago. The fact that a stork named Jasper (voiced by Danny Trejo – yes, THAT Danny Trejo) went rogue and tried to keep a baby instead of delivering one helped shut down that aspect of the business, too. Anyway ...
Now up for a promotion, Junior only has to do one thing to secure it: "Liberate" Tulip (voiced by Katie Crown), the orphan who the storks got stuck with when Jasper lost it years ago. Tulip – who is turning 18 – wants to help the storks (and other flightless birds) as best she can around the office, which usually results in a disaster. Not having the heart to fire her, Junior sticks Tulip into the letter sorting office, which is a dead end job since the storks haven't gotten a letter in years after getting out of the baby delivery game.
Given the circumstances, it's only then natural that little Nate Gardner (voiced by Anton Starkman) wants a little brother to play with since his workaholic realtor parents (voiced by Jennifer Aniston and Ty Burrell, respectively) are always too busy for him. Finding a stork pamphlet in the attic, Nate writes a letter to the storks ... And guess who inadvertently ends up causing a crisis when she operates the long-dormant baby-making machine, requiring her still-hoping-to-be-promoted co-worker to join her in attempting to quietly deliver the "package" to Nate's address?
Throw in some very industrious wolves (voiced by Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key), ultimate bro-bird Pigeon Toady (Stephen Kramer Glickman) and some general unpredictableness and you've got the makings of an animated adventure that is truly for the birds.
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? Adults who are familiar with the stork/baby story; children with a mature enough sense of humor to catch all the jokes; Andy Samberg fans; people who like movies that play to its strengths and don't get bogged down with its weaknesses; anyone who likes an animated movie where the characters are self-aware of their own nature
WHO WON'T (OR SHOULDN'T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? People who hate seeing nods to all forms of social inclusion in animated movies; those who get annoyed with bros/stereotypical surfer talk
SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? A movie dripping with cuteness to the point where it's almost annoying, Storks is also one that fills a niche that rarely is these days: The funny, friendly family film that is also actually a good one.
About as opposite of this summer's other great animated film Sausage Party as one could get – I STILL can't believe parents let their underage, non-driving age kids go to that movie! – Storks works as it follows a simple formula without feeling formulaic. Samberg and Crown share a great rapport with one another, with Crown following the clueless adversary script to a "T" while Samberg plays the annoyed-yet-wanting-to-not-be-a-bad-guy-so-he-puts-up-with-her protagonist role with both youthful exuberance and adult sensibility. Whereas Junior is annoyed when he should be annoyed, Tulip is excited about the littlest things, always searching for the bright side in hopes of finding it. The put upon coupled with the enthusiastic is always a winning combination when neither is completely clueless; fortunately, writer/co-director Nicholas Stoller shows he knows this in crafting his world in which Storks, parrots, wolves and humans exist.
The cast, however, is who brings Stoller's scenery, words and script's spirit to life. The former Comedy Central stars known as Key & Peele bring a playful quality to their alpha and beta wolves characters that works superbly well with the visual images of them transforming into various transportation devices ... Which coupled with forcing Junior and Tulip into crazy situations flows like water. Throw in Kramer Glickman's nuanced take on the bro-ish/wanna be next boss eager to take Junior's place and you get secondary characters that help add to first rate fun.
Storks delivers.
SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? A movie dripping with cuteness to the point where it's almost annoying, Storks is also one that fills a niche that rarely is these days: The funny, friendly family film that is also actually a good one.
About as opposite of this summer's other great animated film Sausage Party as one could get – I STILL can't believe parents let their underage, non-driving age kids go to that movie! – Storks works as it follows a simple formula without feeling formulaic. Samberg and Crown share a great rapport with one another, with Crown following the clueless adversary script to a "T" while Samberg plays the annoyed-yet-wanting-to-not-be-a-bad-guy-so-he-puts-up-with-her protagonist role with both youthful exuberance and adult sensibility. Whereas Junior is annoyed when he should be annoyed, Tulip is excited about the littlest things, always searching for the bright side in hopes of finding it. The put upon coupled with the enthusiastic is always a winning combination when neither is completely clueless; fortunately, writer/co-director Nicholas Stoller shows he knows this in crafting his world in which Storks, parrots, wolves and humans exist.
The cast, however, is who brings Stoller's scenery, words and script's spirit to life. The former Comedy Central stars known as Key & Peele bring a playful quality to their alpha and beta wolves characters that works superbly well with the visual images of them transforming into various transportation devices ... Which coupled with forcing Junior and Tulip into crazy situations flows like water. Throw in Kramer Glickman's nuanced take on the bro-ish/wanna be next boss eager to take Junior's place and you get secondary characters that help add to first rate fun.
Storks delivers.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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