Angry Birds - Der Film (The Angry Birds Movie)
Finland/U.S.A. 2016

Opening 12 May 2016

Directed by: Clay Kaytis, Fergal Reilly
Writing credits: Jon Vitti
Principal actors: Peter Dinklage, Jason Sudeikis, Kate McKinnon, Keegan-Michael Key, Tituss Burgess

A colony of birds has set up a regulated, civilized life on Bird Island. They happily go about their daily lives including visits to the Early Bird worm shop or Birds of a Feather beauty salon. They honor their founder, The Mighty Eagle, although none can remember ever having seen him, except as a hero on a statue. None of them have workable wings and therefore cannot fly. “They don’t fly because they are happy where they are.” Only a cranky bird named Red (as in the color of red, which he is) refuses to fit into the mold, thus making him, an “angry” bird. As a result he is sent to anger management class, where he meets fellow outsiders, Chuck (a yellow bird) and Bomb (a black bird).

A shipload of green pigs led by Leonard brings excitement and new ideas to the island, such as a trampoline, musical presentations, and a super sling shot. The birds are ecstatic; all join in to celebrate. Little do the birds know, but the pigs plan to kidnap the children, i.e., steal all of their eggs. Only Red suspects the impending danger and deceitfulness. Together with Chuck and Bomb he locates the Mighty Eagle for guidance. The tension soon doubles and the birds are forced to take action after the pigs have sailed off with their booty. A major battle gears up and war is on.

Angry Birds originally came out December 2009 as a computer game, which became the most downloaded mobile game of all time. The film, however, is totally independent from the game. It reflects the lives of human beings in such detail, that we can imagine living among them. The action is fast-moving. There are several morals such as “anger is not a solution” or the very opposite: “sometimes anger is what it takes to act.” It touches on real political problems of today such as over-population. The Mighty Eagle is the only bird which can fly, but he is too afraid to do so. The music, including some oldies such as “I will survive” as well as new compositions such as “Friends” by Blake Shelton, carries the film along.

The film will show in both 2D and 3D, although 3D is not really necessary. The animation artists went to great detail in creating 130 different birds and over 100 different pigs. The children in my audience were thrilled, and I would love to see it again, this time in the original English. (Becky Tan)