Angry Birds – Release Date: 13th May 2016

Seven years after the mobile game became an instant hit, the animated movie catapults itself onto the big screen in a hope to inject some more life into the series. It certainly has its moments but all too often Angry Birds feels like a film released at the wrong time, like a late arrival to a party when things are starting to wind down. This interest does affect the film and despite some nice jokes with the game, the film does struggle to garner understanding in what it actually wants to do.

Our main character here is Red (Jason Sudeikis) a bad tempered bird with big, blocky eyebrows who’s regarded as an outsider along with Chuck (Josh Gad) and Bomb (Danny McBride). The rest of the happy birds are delighted when their island is visited by mysterious green pigs but the three outsiders have their doubts. Together, they set off on a journey to find out who these pigs are but more importantly, what they want. It’s story is pretty standard and is only there to serve the gags, of which there are a few.

Most of the comedy derives from nods to the smartphone app. This would ordinarily be fine but considering how late in the life-cycle of the Angry Bird craze this has been released, you can’t help but feel its been released a couple of years too late. The jokes are okay and it is amusing to see what situations Red and the gang get themselves into to lend itself back to referencing the game but beyond that, there isn’t a lot else to get excited about. The animation is okay but with the voice talent on display here, it’s a shame there isn’t a lot to work with.

Like other animations that don’t have much substance to them, kids will love this film and its silly humour and quick moving story is sure to please the little ones. There’s no denying that Angry Birds stays faithful to its smartphone roots but there’s only so many jokes that can be made at the expense of a smartphone app. When the jokes run thin, so too does the story and unfortunately, for a genre as bloated as animation, I can’t see this being remembered i the months and years to come.