Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I'd been busy getting ready for vacation (I went top Gettysburg a few weeks ago), prepping D&D adventures, and working on a major project I have coming down the pipeline but I watched this random animated movie so I figured I might as well review it...
Storks was released on September 23, 2016. It is produced by Warner Animation Group (
The Lego Movie) and written and directed by Nicholas Stoller and Doug Sweetland. In it Junior (Andy Samberg), the top delivery stork for Cornerstore.com, is about to become the new head of the company when Tulip (Katie Crown), an orphaned girl he's supposed to keep out of trouble, inadvertently activates the old Baby Making Machine, creating a baby girl. Desperate to deliver her before the boss (Kelsey Grammer) finds out, Junior and Tulip race to make their first-ever baby delivery.
Storks is an interesting animal (excuse the bad pun). On the one hand it seems to have a refreshing message about the importance of family and child-rearing in an increasingly frenetic and corporate world. On the other hand this message can't help but feel a little suspect coming from a big budget studio film like
Storks. Consider, for example, the film's climax. Hunter, Cornerstore's CEO, wanting to cover up that the company has created another baby and corners Junior and Tulip in the baby factory. To distract them, Junior activates the baby-making machine, causing it to produce hundreds of babies. In response, Hunter tries to use a giant crane to destroy the factory (and presumably the babies as well.) Now, the site of a corporate CEO trying to destroy a large group of "undelivered" babies might strike the pro-life Christian as being rather symbolic of the abortion industry but I doubt this was intentional.
The real message of Storks is that parents (surrogate or otherwise) should place the needs of their families and children above economic advancement which is fine as it goes but, again, it feels a bit insincere at times. I have to admit however, that it's fairly well written, contrasting Junior's relationship with Tulip and Diamond with that between Nate (Anton Starkman), who ordered the baby in the first place, and his mother and father.
The animation is quite good with some really expressive facial work and a lot of fun slapstick. The humor in general is on point with the funniest material provided by Stephen Kramer Glickman's Pigeon Toady, Junior's strange, awkward, nosy coworker, and the wolves played by Key and Peele. The film is well cast all around with Andy Samberg doing a fine job in the lead. His chemistry with Katie Crown's Tulip is reminiscent of old screwball romantic comedies (without the sexual element of course). Kelsey Grammer is also hilarious as the sadistic CEO. Finally, Anton Starkman, Ty Burrell and Jennifer Aniston provide the film with a (relatively) relatable human element as the Gardner family.
Another solid addition to modern Warner Animation (even if it will never again reach the creative heights of Chuck Jones and Tex Avery),
Storks delivers (no pun intended) a funny and fairly heartfelt family film any accidental subtext notwithstanding.
Score: 8/10
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