Film

The Angry Birds Movie

Name: The Angry Birds Movie
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family
Released: 2016
Cast: Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Bill Hader

Comedy
Light-hearted

The Angry Birds Movie is a competent family action-comedy that translates a mobile game into surprisingly energetic slapstick. It's bright, loud, and built on simple charm: misfit birds versus scheming pigs, with jokes for both kids and tired parents. Nobody came for subtlety, and it doesn't pretend otherwise.

TMDb rating

3.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy bright, zany animated comedy with a big heart and a cast of loud, lovable misfits, the kind of family film that plays just as well for grown-ups who never grew out of slapstick.

Skip it if you want sharp, grown-up satire or a fresh story; it leans on broad gags and familiar underdog beats, and the jokes can feel repetitive across its brisk running time.

What it asks of you: Ninety-seven minutes of easy, cheerful momentum with little that lingers after the credits, so it asks for a relaxed evening rather than close attention.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Wreck-It Ralph2012

Another video-game-to-screen adaptation that gets the assignment right: genuinely funny, visually inventive, and full of heart beneath the arcade noise. Ralph's outsider status mirrors Red's perfectly.

But It's almost twenty minutes longer and demands you care about characters in multiple worlds. Some may find that exhausting rather than enriching.

The Lego Movie2014

The same sweet formula: misfits, colour, relentless jokes-per-minute, and an ending that lands harder than you'd expect. It's what happens when someone genuinely cares about toy-to-film adaptation.

But The pacing never lets up. If you want a moment to breathe or a quieter emotional beat, this will feel like visual shouting for two hours.

Madagascar2005

Talking animals on an island, comedic chaos, a villain with surprisingly logical motives. It has the same high-energy cartoon sensibility and proves DreamWorks knew how to make this flavour of fun.

But It's fifteen years older, so the animation shows its age. The humour skews broader and cruder than Angry Birds, which won't appeal to everyone.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Angry Birds Movie

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Adventure Time: Distant Lands2020

Both are built on the energy of outsider characters banding together, but Adventure Time shows what happens when you trust your audience enough to actually evolve the idea over time rather than repeat it.

A cartoon that started as pure silly fun and evolved into something genuinely strange and emotionally complex. It has Angry Birds' colourful chaos but layered underneath are real questions about friendship, mortality, and what it means to grow up.

But The first season is deliberately silly and uneven; patience is required before it finds its voice. It also gets weird and dark in ways that contradict the bright early episodes—some viewers hate that tonal whiplash.

Zootopia2016

Released the same year, it's what happens when animators get real ambition: gorgeous, clever, genuinely moving, with jokes that work for all ages. It shares Angry Birds' ensemble cast but does far more with it.

But It's a police procedural mystery with social commentary underneath. If you want pure, thoughtless fun rather than narrative substance, this overthinks things.

Despicable Me2010

Goofy villain, minions as comic relief, escalating destruction. It has the same low-stakes absurdity and finds genuine laughs in slapstick. Perfectly pleasant, never trying too hard.

But The plot is thin as paper and the emotional beats feel obligatory. You're essentially watching a feature-length joke with heart grafted on at the end.

Ice Age2002

Mismatched creatures forced together, adventure across dangerous terrain, found-family warmth. It's the template many comedies since have borrowed, and it still works because the core idea is sound.

But It's visibly dated, technically and stylistically. The humour relies heavily on sarcasm and pop-culture references that have aged differently than hoped.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs2009

Absurdist premise, colourful chaos, genuinely clever visual humour. It commits to its weird idea completely and never apologizes, which makes the nonsense feel earned rather than lazy.

But The plot is genuinely thin, and by the second half it's running on spectacle alone. If substance matters more than style, this will feel hollow.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs poster

The Secret Life of Pets2016

Another 2016 ensemble, bright and warm, with that same sense that these characters genuinely like each other. It's comfort-watch animation: familiar, well-made, and asking nothing difficult of you.

But It plays it very safe. There's nothing here that hasn't been done before, and it doesn't push the formula anywhere surprising or bold.

Norm of the North2016

A talking animal leads a found family against corporate villains. It exists, it tries, and some viewers will find it entertainingly earnest in a way polished movies no longer are.

But It's technically awkward, the jokes don't land, and the voice acting feels strained. There are better options in this genre, and most people will sense that immediately.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse2018

Both are adaptations-of-sorts that could have been cynical cash grabs, but Spider-Verse shows what happens when someone cares enough to reinvent the form rather than just execute the assignment competently.

A film about misfits who don't belong together learning to work as a team—but it's a visual revolution, deliberately ugly-beautiful, funny, and moving all at once. It proves animation can be stylistically radical while remaining genuinely fun.

But It's visually dense and moves fast; some find the art style exhausting rather than exciting. It also takes its characters and stakes seriously, which is the opposite of Angry Birds' breezy irreverence.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse poster

Klaus2019

Both feature outsiders finding their place through connection rather than dominance, but Klaus uses rotoscope technique and real beauty to suggest that kindness, not conflict, is the answer to the same problem Angry Birds solves through slapstick.

A gorgeously animated film about two outsiders—a cynical postal worker and a reclusive woodsman—learning to work together and change their community. It's visually stunning in ways Angry Birds isn't trying to be, but carries the same warmth about unlikely friendships.

But It's a Christmas origin story, so if that premise bores you on principle, you won't get past the setup. It's also quieter and more earnest than you might expect from animation—less joke-focused, more feeling-focused.