Interestingly, The Angry Birds Movie surprised me by a) not being bad, and b) actually being pretty entertaining for a movie based on a smartphone game. With the box-office success of the movie, it’s no secret as to why Sony Pictures Animation launched a sequel three years later.
This time, they’ve outdone themselves by going all in. Complete with pop dance breaks, a new island to battle, and a Nicki Minaj cameo, The Angry Birds 2 is another fun and the refreshing movie brought to us by Rovio Entertainment.
How to Stream or Download The Angry Birds Movie 2
You can stream it or you can download the film from a number of digital stores. Click on the Download button at the end of this review.
The Movie Review
The birds of Bird Island have been locked in a long-running prank war with the pigs of Pig Island. But suddenly a real threat arises from a third island: Eagle Island. King Leonard asks for a truce so that the two enemies can talk.
Red, on the other hand, isn’t a fan of truces. He is scared of being irrelevant and not needed. However, Eagle Island’s purple-feathered tyrant Zeta is sick of living on the icy island. Birds and pigs will have to work together to eliminate the threat. To stop the megalomaniac Zeta’s plans for world dominance, Red, Bomb, Mighty Eagle, Chuck, and his clever sister, Silver, must join forces with Leonard’s piggy crew!
Director Thurop van Orman is somewhat of a cartoon god, being responsible for many of my childhood favorites – Camp Lazlo, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, and Adventure Time. Joining the team as screenwriters are Ice Age’s Peter Ackerman and Cars 3’s Eyal Podell, so it’s safe to say that The Angry Birds Movie 2 is in really, really good hands.
The creators made the risky but ambitious decision to veer away from the games’ source material, introducing new characters and locations, as well as forming an alliance between the games’ long-running enemies.
If there’s anything that vastly improved in The Angry Birds Movie 2, it’s the storyline. The character development and the pacing are much better than the first Angry Birds movie. It has a good message about forgiving your foes and not judging a book by its cover, making it easier for children to relate to.
The studio proved that it took time and effort to build a genuine plot rather than depending on the game to make a quick buck at the expense of the audience. The new cast is also impressive, you’ve got Awkwafina as Courtney, Leslie Jones as the villain Zeta, Pete Davidson as Jerry, and JoJo Siwa voicing both Jay and Kira. Oh, and The Angry Birds Movie 2 is funnier. There’s a tiny subplot that’s similar to (but cuter than) the squirrel in Ice Age, in which three birds try to protect their always-disappearing sibling eggs.
I didn’t find the jokes in the first movie funny, but I chuckled a few times here, especially during a scene where the three little birds accidentally launch themselves into space, with David Bowie’s Space Odyssey in the background.
The Bottom Line
In conclusion, The Angry Birds Movie 2 didn’t make me angry. Instead, it made me feel pretty good, albeit being forgettable. It’s a great light-hearted movie to switch your brain off to, and you could tell that the movie wants its viewers to feel that way with its simplicity. In the end, it’s not really meant to be a Pixar film or anything.
The only reason this movie exists is not like the Lego movies where people can share their passion for the toys, but the amount of money they could milk off of this game from iPad kids. But hey, at least everyone’s satisfied on both ends!
