Red, Chuck, Bomb and the rest of their feathered friends are surprised when a green pig suggests that they put aside their differences and unite to fight a common threat. Aggressive birds from an island covered in ice are planning to use an elaborate weapon to destroy the fowl and swine way of life. After picking their best and brightest, the birds and pigs come up with a scheme to infiltrate the island, deactivate the device and return to their respective paradises intact.
Okay, so we know why this film exists; because the first film ended up making nearly five times its budget back at the box office. This potentially why Sony Animation jumped on board as well, as there was definitely a high chance of making some good returns from the franchise. It does beg the question of whether the collaboration has been for the betterment of the franchise. As sad as it is to say, The Angry Birds Movie is potentially one of the best "videogame" movies ever made. How does the sequel stack up?
It's actually rather difficult to compare the two films. The original film focused on developing the characters and spends the first two acts world-building, to set up a climax that incorporates the actual game mechanics. The sequel, on the other hand, does not even attempt to bring the gameplay into the film. The Angry Birds Movie 2 takes the characters and world built in its predecessor and focuses solely on bringing as much comedy as possible to the big screen.
The comedic stylings are rather hit and miss. To be fair, when it hits, it hits really strongly, and the audience will be laughing loudly and frequently throughout the first two acts. The comedy is, however, largely low-hanging fruit; with a large proportion of the humour dealing with low-brow slapstick and physical humour, and well as toilet humour. We see the return of the odd joke from the first film (specifically the "mime" character, and the film's writers fascination with the act of urination). The real downside to the comedy is its oftentimes reliance on pop culture references which will date the film very quickly (be warned, Baby Shark is a thing in the Angry Birds world).
Peter Dinklage's Mighty Eagle gains some backstory, Red gets a little more depth into his character and dealing with his surge in popularity post-"saving the world", and the character of Silver introduced and added to the team, but in response, Sean Penn's Terrence and Maya Rudolph's Matilda are benched this time around. The time spent building and developing the world is far less this time around, and it takes no time at all before the team are on their new adventure.
The animation is just as detailed as the first film and carries on the tradition of vivid colours and great character designs. The textures and dexterity of the characters really help to give the physical humour an added edge. With a new world to explore, there are some gorgeous set pieces, (with many action scenes directed in a much more visually appealing manner this time around).
The biggest weakness of the film is its story. There is very little depth to it, and while Red and Mighty Eagle do get arcs, they are only really skin deep. The climax of the film wraps itself up in a manner that doesn't feel earned or well-written (despite it being a very straightforward plot point to have fixed). The story is so weak that additional side stories that have nothing to do with the main arc are introduced as filler to bump up that runtime. There is a love story between two characters that have no significance in the film beyond some cheap visual gags, and there is an arc around three hatchlings that feels oddly inspired by Scrat the sabre-toothed squirrel from the Ice Age franchise. The comedy hits more than it misses, but that is not enough to disguise how weak the story is.
Despite the lacklustre story, the voice cast was exceptional. Every character gave their all in their performances and it really shows in the energy of the final product.
The Angry Birds Movie 2 has transitioned from a videogame movie (an app movie might be more accurate) into a fully-fledged world with limitless possibilities. The animation and colours make it exciting to watch, and the comedic elements that work really make up for the parts that don't. Overall, the film impresses, and you leave the theatre with the knowledge that you managed to actually enjoy yourself. It could have done with some more character depth and a better-written story but for a children's film, it does a great job and providing enough to keep the adults laughing too.