Review: ‘The Angry Birds Movie’ is Dumb, But Foolish Fun for Little Ones

I asked my kid why Angry Birds are so angry. His reply? “Duh! They’re Angry Birds”. Sony Animation’s big screen version of the money-printing mobile game hit is cool with that logic. Set on an island of flightless birds invaded by green piggies, it falls to three furious heroes to save the day: the easily enraged Red, (Jason Sudeikis), speedy Chuck (Josh Gad), and the (literally) explosive Bomb (Danny McBride). Forget plot, because if it’s toilet humour and gooey slapstick the kids want to see, that’s what they get – by the bucket-load.

Bursting with the same manic, scatological humour as the SpongeBob and Minions movies, what it lacks in sophistication or subtlety, Angry Birds hides behind super-sonically-paced silliness, booming pop rock and stuff, um, egg-sploding. The funniest wee scene (pun intended) goes to Peter Dinklage as an eagle, whilst the “really, that was Sean Penn?” award goes to anyone guessing which character he voiced.

Some adult gags sit uneasily, but whilst it feels out of place when Red mutters the likes of “Pluck my life”, he makes up for it with: “Something isn’t kosher with these pigs.” There’re some fun background gags too, including an advert on Piggy Island for ‘Calvin Swine’ underwear, a poster for Kevin Bacon in Hamlet, and a Shining reference featuring twin piglets.

Undeniably dumb, but foolish fun for little ones, The Angry Birds Movie pretty much meets egg-spectations of an absurd bird game plucked from an app and served up on the big screen.

‘The Angry Birds Movie’ Movie Times | 3D Movie Times