After saving Bird Island from an all-out green-pig invasion in The Angry Birds Movie (2016), the isle’s always cranky local hero, Red, still finds himself doing battle with Pig Island. As the prank war between pigs and birds is raging, massive icy projectiles coming from the feathery tyrant Zeta’s ice-capped Eagle Island threaten the security of both havens, unless Red and King Leonard agree to form a difficult but honest truce. Now, Red, Bomb, Mighty Eagle, Chuck, and his brilliant sister, Silver, have to join forces with Leonard’s mighty porcine team to thwart the megalomaniac Zeta’s bold schemes for world domination. However, is Red capable of change?

IMdB: 6.4

Okay, we can make this short. ABM2 the number two of a wannabe franchise. And it’s good, even very good in parts. Hilariously funny LOL moments galore, mixed with naive childish, boring parts because the makers obviously weren’t able to decide who the target audience is. It’s by all appearance a kiddie flick but touches enough grown-up territory that might be above the heads of little kidz and bore them to death, while hubby and me nodded wisely.

I see how the filmmakers tried to work around that problem by compartmentalizing the movie into two different story arcs that didn’t touch at any point and had nothing to do with each other.

We have the main story, the “adult” war/spy drama where Red needs to learn  that he’s part of a team and can’t work as the sole hero anymore, and there is the absolutely brainfree, slapsticky comedy part where three hatchlings lose and then save their little siblings/eggs. Of course that’s funny as all fuck but – as I said – absolutely free of any higher meaning.

The adult part isn’t very demanding neither. It really needs no philosophy professor to figure out what it’s all about. What we get is the typical development story of an emerging hero, just told in very broad and colourful strokes. We’ve seen this in countless films already, mostly more eloquently and elegantly told and with more effect … but never as funny and feathery as in ABM2.

This was a really enjoyable movie without any real weaknesses. It was fast paced, had witty dialogue, hilarious action, everything one needs for a good time. It’s just that the first Angry Birds movie was better overall. This time around we already know our protagonists, their quirks and weaknesses. Most of all we know Red, our mostly grumpy anti-hero. He’s actually the only character who undergoes any development at all. But in the end he is and stays Red as we know and loath him.

The voice cast was good I guess. Not an expert on voiceover work and don’t know most of the voice actors. Only name that rang a bell with me was Leslie Jones as Zeta, the queen of Ice Island and our bird/pigs’ team opponent. And I knew that beach only from the sensationally bad and generally hated Ghostbusters (2016) flick. In ABM2 she delivered a fine job.

CONCLUSION: A really good animation movie but not as good as the first one. We’d expected a bit more.

May I serve you some YouTube?