Director(s): Clay Kaytis, Fergal Reilly
Cast: Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride (VOICES)
Release Date: August 16, 2016
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Film Rating: 6.5/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10
Synopsis:
In the animated comedy-adventure, THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE, we’ll finally find out why the birds are so angry. The movie takes us to an island populated entirely by happy, flightless birds – or almost entirely. In this paradise, Red (Jason Sudeikis), a bird with a temper problem, speedy Chuck (Josh Gad), and the volatile Bomb (Danny McBride) have always been outsiders. But when the island is visited by mysterious green piggies, it’s up to these unlikely outcasts to figure out what the pigs are up to.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.
Arriving in their first feature length animated film; ‘The Angry Birds Movie’ takes us back to the beginning as these irritable fowls first come into contact with the conniving pigs from across the way. Having previously believed they were alone and no other forms of animal (or otherwise) existed, these flightless birds initially welcome the seemingly friendly and kind hearted Pigs with open arms when they first appear on their shorelines, with only the angry and largely unlikeable Red (Sudeikis) willing to see through their lies. Refusing to let his world and its inhabitants go down that easily, Red ignores the rules and warnings given by the higher ups and joins forces with the goofy Chuck (Gad) and the intimidating Bomb (McBride) in order to uncover the true reason behind the Pigs arrival, yet what they discover just may be more terrifying than they had ever expected; now it’s time to angry!
Featuring some fairly impressive and detailed animation that shouldn’t disappoint, ‘The Angry Birds Movie’ is competently guided by first time directors Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly who deliver a surprisingly detailed and often gorgeous film in their directorial debut. Opting for the birds to speak this time around also allows for some additional fun with a number of talented and fairly recognizable individuals including Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Bill Hader, Peter Dinklage, Sean Penn, Keegan-Michael Key, Kate McKinnon, Ike Barinholtz and more comprising the voice cast, nearly all of whom deliver perfectly fitting performances in each of their respective (voice) roles.
‘The Angry Birds Movie’ is a goofy, humorous and wildly enjoyable animated ride that doesn’t try to break any new ground or attempt anything outrageous, always appearing to be far more concerned with simply having fun which certainly isn’t a bad thing. After all, none of us were expecting an Oscar contender with this one and Angry Birds fans in particular should find themselves thoroughly entertained from start to finish. It may not be a perfect animated feature by any means, but it certainly delivers a far more impressive feature length film than I could have possibly imagined, with no shortage of humorous and enjoyable moments that are always complimented by solid animation boosted with plenty of warm and rich colors. The decision to have the characters speak this time around as we go back to what initiated this war between the birds and pigs also does wonders to the overall experience (especially with the talented and hilarious individuals providing many of the voices in the film including Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride and many more) and allows for a more complete story than would have been possible without the presence of dialogue. I would definitely urge Angry Birds fans in general, along with anyone who appreciates a simplistic and enjoyable good time give this one a whirl, you likely won’t be disappointed.
Overall, ‘The Angry Birds Movie’ is a solid animated adaption of the ridiculously popular app that has spawned far wider notice and popularity than anyone could have imagined. The film provides plenty of humorous moments and a collection of talented voice actors that result in a simplistic, competently animated and surprisingly enjoyable animated film. Angry Birds fans in particular will likely want to be sure and pick up a copy of this one to add to their collections, while those who enjoy an enjoyable and humorous animated feature that doesn’t require your undivided attention will probably want to give this one a shot as well when they have the opportunity to do so.
VIDEO:
The Blu-ray release of ‘The Angry Birds Movie’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks outstanding and delivers a consistently sharp, detailed and gorgeous presentation that perfectly represents the bright, vivid colors always on prominent display, holding up admirably down to nearly every animated line and suffering no notable faults whatsoever throughout. Overall, this is another gorgeous high definition video presentation from Sony that should easily thrill the masses.
AUDIO:
The Blu-ray release features a lossless 7.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This lossless multichannel soundtrack provides a crisp, clean and often quite aggressive audio presentation from start to finish. Frequently utilizing all seven available channels in order to send everything from general crowd activity to birds being catapulted throughout the various speakers and much more, while never resulting in any dialogue which may be occurring simultaneously to become distorted, let alone rendered inaudible. Overall, this is a fantastic 7.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtrack that contributes yet another layer of enjoyment to the overall viewing experience.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The Blu-ray release of ‘The Angry Birds Movie’ includes a number of enjoyable extras for the entire family to enjoy. Included on the release are a number of ‘Deleted Scenes’ from the film (running approximately 7 minutes in length altogether), in addition to a closer look at the little ones in ‘Hatchlings’ which includes ‘4 Animated Shorts’ and a behind the scenes look in ‘Meet the Hatchlings’ (running approximately 10 minutes in total), plus another animated short ‘Bubbles and Hal’ (running approximately 2 minutes). We are also treated to a number of Featurettes and goofy/fun videos including: ‘Creating The Real World of Angry Birds’ (approximately 8 minutes), ‘Dance Along With the Birds and Pigs’ (4 minutes), ‘Crafty Birds’ (5 minutes), ‘Meet the Birds’ (10 minutes), ‘Meet the Pigs’ (5 minutes), a collection of ‘In-Theater Policy Trailers’ (3 minutes altogether), and learn about the film’s musical numbers in ‘Making Music with Composer Heitor Pereira’ (11 minutes in total). The option of a selectable ‘Symphony Mode’ for the feature film which omits the squawks and oinks is also included, along with the ‘“Friends” Music Video by Black Shelton’ (3 minutes), a ‘Photo Gallery’ and an instructional video ‘Angry Birds Action – How to Sync’ (1 minute).
*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.
Film Rating: 6.5/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10
‘The Angry Birds Movie’; Now Available On Digital & Arriving on Blu-ray Combo Pack, 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack & DVD August 16, 2016 from Rovio & Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Purchase your copy today by clicking on the Amazon Cart Icon immediately below!
