Hello everyone and we are back to look at another film that’s been in theaters for awhile, but sadly hasn’t been doing very well financially. I am of course talking about the sequel to the hit video game based adaptation, the Angry Birds Movie 2! If you read my review of the first one you know that I actually quite enjoy it even if I am aware of its problems. So when I heard they were making a sequel I was actually kind of looking forward to it since what I was hoping was it would be able to improve upon the original, and be a better movie. Add in some of the creative talent like the director, Thurop Van Orman, who previously worked on the classic cartoon Network series The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (a show which I watched a bit of when I was little), and I started to become more, and more optimistic at this movies prospects. Luckily its safe to say that that optimism was worth it, since this is indeed better than the first in almost every way and is a really fun comedy in its own right.
After the events of the first film, Red is seen as hero for saving the eggs from the pigs, and has become very popular on the island with the local residents looking up to him. Unfortunately though those pesky piggies won’t give up as they wage war with the birds as the two islands are constantly attacking each other with no end in sight, and to Red that is a good thing since he feels that if this war stops then he won’t be seen as a hero anymore, and live the rest of his life alone even with his friends, Chuck and Bomb, trying to get him a date. As if things couldn’t get any worse King Leonard Mudbeard, the antagonist of the last film comes to make a truce with the birds after discovering that there is a third island that threatens both birds, and pigs. It is soon discovered that this mysterious place is called Eagle Island which is ruled by Zeta, an eagle who is sick, and tired of living on a frozen wasteland and wants to scare off the inhabitants of both other islands so her and her fellow eagles can move there. In order to stop Zeta, Red decides to put together a team of the most skilled individuals he knows which includes both Chuck, Bomb, and Leonard as well as fellow hero, Might Eagle, Leonard’s assistant, Courtney, and Chuck’s super smart sister, Silver, whom Red had a rather unpleasant encounter with. So as the team heads off to stop Zeta from enacting her evil plan can Red learn to along with his team so that they can save the day?
Lets start off with talking about the biggest improvement over the original, and that is the pacing. As you may recall if you’ve read my review probably my biggest issue with that film was that the pacing in the first two thirds was a bit of a drag, and how it tries too hard to stretch an already thin premise, and it only truly came alive in the third act. Here the pacing is much tighter, and the film maintains a fast paced energy throughout which is something that was lacking in the those first two thirds in the first, and the story was a lot more focused this time around and the film works really well as a stand alone film as you don’t really need to see the first in one in order to understand this one. Another thing I loved was that it just goes all out with the zaniness, and is not afraid to get crazy kind of in the vein of other very good animated comedies like Penguins of Madagascar, and Storks (both of which revolve around birds weirdly enough) and we can credit the director’s experience in directing similarly weird, and crazy stuff for that. I’m not saying the story is the best most daring, and original type of story out there, I mean its pretty much a good guys have to team up with the bad guys to take on the worse guys kind of thing, but it still is executed pretty well with a good message concerning teamwork, and how we should trust others and not always try to go at it alone. Its also the latest in a long line of movies this past year, and just the fourth animated movie (let alone the third animated sequel) since Ralph Breaks the Internet to deal with toxic masculinity. It takes a look at how seriously Red’s destructive actions really cause trouble for the mission, and how his jealousy, and fear of being forgotten gets the best of him. I do have to say the film pokes fun at the issue in some clever ways, and actually makes Red’s arc even more effective this time around. Its kind of interesting how there are so many films tackling this important issue in today’s society and sadly most of them flopping while doing so which says a lot. I will also say that in terms of comedy this film was more consistently funny. Now the original had a number of good jokes but there was also a number of pretty groan worthy jokes that were pretty distracting, while here I was laughing hysterically throughout. Sure there were a couple of pop culture references (Okay that Suicide Squad parody scene was pretty funny), poop jokes, and attempts to be hip, and cool that didn’t always land but that can be forgiven since most of the time the jokes landed very well, and the visual gags were hilarious and take full advantage of animation’s limitless possibilities. With a better script, a more focused narrative, and even funnier comedy you can tell the this sequel was written by a creative team who looked at what did and did not work about the first one saying what could they do better, and succeeding at it.
One of the best parts of the original was its animation, and that same quality is still present here and even improved upon in certain aspects. For one the character movements are just as well balanced in terms of being grounded in the more character driven scene, and unabashedly cartoony in the fast paced action, and slapstick comedy sequences while the designs still maintain the classic look of the games while still being unique, and memorable in their own right. One way in which the designs are better here is the rendering in the feathers of the birds is a lot more detailed which is a nice touch. The backgrounds are once again beautiful to look at with a brand new place to visit in the ice box that is Eagle Island. Its a nice contrast between the nature centric Bird Island and the industrialized setting of Piggy Island, and I am impressed by the way the ice, and snow was rendered here as well since those things ain’t any easy to make in animation, and there were times here where it was extremely detailed pleasant to watch. Also like I said before this movie ain’t afraid to get a little crazy with its visuals and it takes full advantage of the fact that it is animated to just go all out which I appreciate since those are usually the best types of animated comedies, and that’s all thanks to Thurop Van Orman’s fun direction which brings the film alive. A rather underappreciated element of the first was its score, and that I’m glad to see it return here, but weirdly enough this film’s soundtrack actually has a lot more well known songs here, and to my surprise most of the time they are well utilized here. As someone who usually isn’t a huge fan of constant record spins in animated movies today since they end up being more distracting than incorporated into the scene well (looking at you Dreamwork’s Home which is one of the biggest offenders when it comes to this) I was pleasantly surprised that most of the times the songs fit the scenes pretty well with only maybe one or two times when it was legitimately distracting. I ain’t going to list every single one of them but some of the highlights were “Holding Out For a Hero”, “I Don’t Want to Wait”, “The Final Countdown” (yes a song that was in the trailer is in the movie, finally), “Baby Shark” (yes you read that right), and a new song that plays in the credits performed by Kesha titled “Best Day”.
One of the reasons I still like the first one even with the first two acts being a bit of a drag is that I found the characters fun to hang with, and I think I may like them here even more. I already mentioned how Red’s arc was better here, and he is a much more likable protagonist this time around with motivations being understandable, and even relatable. I mean we are all afraid of being alone, and are never sure the reasons people really like I can understand what he’s going through even if his actions aren’t the best. Once again Jason Sudeikis does a great job capturing that cynical wit, and sarcastic personality of the character, and in fact the voice acting is also better in this feature. It was good in the first, but here it felt just a little more natural and it was hard to tell what celebrity was playing who at times. Josh Gad, and Danny McBride are once again a lot of fun as the fast talking, Chuck, and the slow witted, Bomb, while Bill Hader is still entertaining as the former maniacal evil genius but now seemingly friendly, Leonard. As for the other returning players well with the exception of Peter Dinklage as Mighty Eagle who gets some nice character development here as we learn about his past, and why he’s so afraid of Eagle Island, they really are just there, and don’t get to do much which is a shame considering I liked most of them in the first one (was really hoping to see more of Matilda, and Terrence, and their relationship yet they had like one or two scenes together). But while the old players were still fun to be with it was the new characters I ended up liking the most. Rachel Bloom gives a fun, and energetic performance as Silver an incredibly smart engineer who is not always appreciated for her work. While yes it is a little cliche how she is another female character who really likes STEM (something Disney’s been getting a lot of flack for), and she is a bit of a Mary Sue since she basically knows all of the answers to the problems, it works mainly because A. that’s not her main personality trait, B. the film gently pokes fun of that stereotype, and C. she’s just likable in her own right, and is just a lot of fun. She also serves as a new love interest to Red further developing that message about toxic masculinity, and they have some funny interactions with one another, and I liked how it ended. Big name talents Awkwafina, and Sterling K. Brown play Courtney, and piggy gadget designer, Gary respectively, and they both do a really good job voicing the characters, and the characters themselves take advantage of their limited screentime to be involved in some funny moments. On the villain’s side Leslie Jones does an excellent job voicing Zeta using her SNL chops to great comedic effect, and I liked the character a lot thanks to her hilariously bossy personality and I found her motivation to be pretty understandable, and she has a cute assistant named Debbie voiced by Tiffany Haddish (in her third role in an animated movie in this year alone after The Lego Movie 2, and the Secret Life of Pets 2 all of which have performed well below their predecessors… is this raising any red flags). Other recognizable names that manage to leave an impression are Zach Woods, and Pete Davidson as two oblivious eagle guards, and especially Eugenio Derbez who is almost unrecognizable as Zeta’s chief engineer, Glenn, who is constantly terrified of being tortured by her. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the standouts of the movie which are the baby Hatchlings voiced by Brooklyn Pierce, Genesis Tennon, and Ala Varsano who are just so freaking hilarious, and adorable! They have their own mini subplot where they go on a journey to save their unhatched brothers, and sisters when they are accidentally drifted into the sea which is reminiscent of the Scrat sequences from the Ice Age franchise, and it is among the funniest things in the movie, and is where many of the best visual gags are. As someone who liked the cast, and characters in the first, I am happy to say that this sequel does an even better job in that department.
First Spider-Man Far From Home, and now this! Man, Sony is on a roll when it comes to sequels that improve upon the first in pretty much every way! Coming from someone who enjoys the first, The Angry Birds Movie 2 is an improvement on its predecessor thanks in no small part to much better pacing, a focused story, good messages, beautiful animation, a game cast, likable characters, and a willingness to just go all out with the craziness. There are some issues that prevent it from being an all time great animated comedy like not every single joke landing, and a story that’s not in any great shakes but that’s doesn’t detract from how much fun I had with this movie. Its a real shame this movie is not doing so well at the box office, and I do hope that people will be willing to give it a chance because it deserves better. It’s yet another crazy, zany, and weird animated comedy about anthropomorphic birds like Storks, and Penguins of Madagascar that is able to soar high (your move Spies In Disguise), and it makes me more excited for Sony Pictures Animation’s future.
On a side note: Before the film would start, there is a short film called “Hair Love” directed by Matthew Perry that plays, and all I’m going to say that it is just amazing. It concerns a really sweet father-daughter relationship, and is both funny, and emotionally powerful at the same time with some gorgeous Disney esque 2-D animation! You have no idea how satisfying it was to see that on the big screen again, and the movie is worth seeing for this short alone. Its that great, and it is a huge shoe in for best animated short at the Oscars so if you ever get the chance even if its not in theaters please check it out!
Rating: B+
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