Storks

This review may contain spoilers!

I wasn't expecting a film about storks to have so much to say in regards to family values and anti-corporations; absolutely the best animated film out at the moment. I would give Storks a 7.5/10.

There's a really strong sense of comedy at the heart of this film; family dynamics and modern corporations are parodied and mocked in a really fun way. I loved the messages about the importance of family and how family doesn't have to be conventional, there's a really beautiful montage where families are united with their babies and we see same-sex parents, men and women, single mothers in what is the most touching aspect of this film. The storks are also part of this big corporation within the film, there are some strong barbs made about companies and yet another great message about abolishing the idea of the 'perfect worker' and instead acting like an empathetic individual within the workplace. The score is really fun and adds a lot of energy; the soundtrack is also used powerfully and very comically.

Andy Samberg, who voiced Junior, is already well established as one of the greatest comedic actors out there at the moment and he brings all of that to this film; Samberg crafts a role who develops really well by the end of the feature. Kelsey Grammer, who voiced Hunter, made for such a great antagonist; his parody of a corporate exec was really funny and made for an interesting animated villain. Jennifer Aniston and Ty Burrell, who voiced Sarah Gardner and Henry Gardner respectively, do the over the top hard working parent roles really well; I enjoyed seeing them progress into becoming more attentive parents towards their son. Anton Starkman, who voiced Nate Gardner, brought the charm of an innocent child looking for a new sibling to life in this film; it was a simple voice performance but it had a lot of impact. Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, who voiced Alpha Wolf and Beta Wolf respectively, were a fun part of the supporting cast; Key and Peele's comedic dynamic really brought a lot to the scenes that they were in.

However the best performance came from Katie Crown, who voiced Tulip. Crown had a really vibrant presence in this film, she was absolutely funny and able to hold her own with the likes of Samberg, Key and Peele. Yet what makes her stand out is her capacity to bring forth a character who you can really empathise with, this is a young woman who has had to grow up alone without a family and she wants nothing more than to find a family of some sort (both for her and Diamond Destiny).

The start of this film takes a long while to get underway which unfortunately affects the pacing in a negative way; the comedy is geared towards adults and it doesn't do a good job of connecting you with the characters. The animation isn't the best either, a lot of the characters are very simply animated and the same goes for the backgrounds (however the ending starts adding more of a focus upon colours which adds more quality to the film).

Danny Trejo, who voiced Jasper, is a role that really should have been given more screen time; a little bit more focus to this character would have made his backstory stand out and make him more enjoyable. Stephen Kramer Glickman, who voiced Pigeon Toady, is the most annoying character of the whole film; Glickman's choice of voice for this particular role made the character unbearable to listen to.