If you’ve ever played the mobile video game Angry Birds, you might have found yourself wondering — why am I sling-shotting cartoon birds at grinning green pigs? Why are these birds so angry? What have the pigs done to deserve this destruction? “Angry Birds,” the movie, is here to fill in that backstory, to answer the questions that may or may not have been asked, and provide motivation for the avian rage. The film proves to be more than just a gimmick, and doesn’t skimp on any of the quirky wackiness that you might expect from a film about blob-shaped, flightless birds battling pigs.
Jason Sudeikis lends his voice talents to the angriest of the birds, Red, and his snarky, sardonic delivery is perfect for the character. He’s the red one, per the name, with the perpetually V-shaped eyebrows. Those brows are the source of some angst, having been teased about them as a kid. That early torment has led to his current worldview, as a perpetual victim whom the world is out to get.
He doesn’t even fit in during his court-mandated anger management classes. “Angry Birds” somehow balances those recognizable real-world elements with all-out fantastical silliness, and that contrast lends itself to the film’s weird charm. Zenned-out Matilda (voiced by Maya Rudolph) teaches the island’s other angry birds in attendance — the speedy motormouth Chuck (voiced by Josh Gad), uncontrollably explosive Bomb (voiced by Danny McBride) and intimidating but silent Terence (voiced by Sean Penn), who only growls.
The porky pirates arrive one day in an enormous ship, led by the swaggering Southern-accented Leonard (Bill Hader), bearing tropical banquets and dance parties with DJs, sweeping the birds off their feet.
