Rated: G
Written and Directed by: Nicholas Stoller
Directed by: Doug Sweetland
Starring: Andy Samberg, Katie Crown, Kelsey Grammer, Jennifer Aniston, Ty Burrell, Anton Starkman, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Danny Trejo, Stephen Kramer Glickman, Chris Smith, Awkwafina, Ike Barinholtz, Jorma Taccone; Amanda Lund.
Storks is a story about families written for families. About a young boy who wants a brother, an orphan girl without family making the best of a world where she doesn’t belong and an ambitious stork not realising how much he’s missing out – all those warm family hugs.
Director and writer Nicholas Stoller has nailed that warm fuzzy family feeling, basing the story on his own life experience of being the father of two girls.
Synopsis:
After the unfortunate incident of Jasper the stork (Danny Trejo) losing the beacon used to deliver his package/baby, Tulip (the human orphan) lives at what is no longer a Baby Factory but a global internet retail giant called Cornerstore.com. Far easier for the storks to deliver purchased packages than babies.
Now Junior (Andy Samberg) is set to become boss, unless something goes wrong, like the accidental creation of another baby for the storks to deliver, immediately, before the CEO finds out.
Thoughts:
Don’t ask me why but birds, particularly chickens, crack me up. It may have something to do with my sister being chased by chooks when we were young, and then being terrified of feathered animals ever since… And is there nothing funnier than seeing someone being swooped by a magpie? As long as they don’t go and swoop you too? Anyway, the bird humour in Storks certainly had me clucking, I mean chuckling; an understated humour, that surprised and provoked laugh out loud moments.
Pigeon Toady (Stephen Kramer Glickman), green and complete with a mop of strawberry blonde hair was a bit hit and miss for me, but when he hit, he was hilarious.
I did wonder how kids watching the film would feel about the confusing concept of storks delivery babies. Seeing the film at a family screening, there were plenty of kids in the audience and what I heard a lot of was tiny voices exclaiming, Baby! So I don’t think the kids really cared about the concept, it was all about the cuteness. Leave it to the parents to explain the birds and the bees, I guess!
There was a bit of a slow start. I didn’t really invest until the wolves were introduced. But after that, I was pretty well suckered.
In Conclusion:
Storks is for all the family with parents and kids alike having their hearts melted by the cuteness of these animated babies. For me, I appreciated the humour.
But be warned: may induce cluckiness.