Is The Angry Birds Movie right for your family?

This review covers common concerns — screen for what YOUR family cares about.

The Angry Birds Movie

Movie

The Angry Birds Movie (2016) is an animated action-comedy film based on the popular mobile game. It delves into the origin story of the conflict between the flightless birds of Bird Island and the green pigs. The narrative centers on Red, an outcast with anger management issues, whose cynical nature becomes instrumental when mysterious pigs arrive and threaten the birds' eggs. The movie follows Red, alongside his friends Chuck and Bomb, as they uncover the pigs' scheme and lead the birds in a retaliatory effort. Aimed at a family audience, particularly fans of the game, the film blends slapstick humor and cartoon violence with underlying themes of acceptance, friendship, and harnessing one's unique qualities for good.

Content concerns found:Click to jump

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Concerns

LGBTQ & Gender Identity

Medium

The film includes subtle allusions to LGBTQ+ themes and characters. One character, Chuck, is portrayed with characteristics described by some reviewers as a "campy sort-of gay stereotype" and is noted to have a "leather-daddy fantasy" involving Mighty Eagle. Additionally, the character Stella is identified as a lesbian within the movie's continuity, and background elements hint at same-sex couples, with a GLAAD report noting animated birds holding hands.

Chuck, a yellow bird in Red's anger management class, is depicted with "campy" mannerisms and has a "leather-daddy fantasy about the legendary Mighty Eagle." A Christian review explicitly describes Chuck as "obviously homosexual" with "several comments and even a dream sequence involving Mighty Eagle." Additionally, Stella, a pink bird, is identified as a lesbian in the movie continuity. A GLAAD report noted "animated birds who hold hands in the background of one short scene" in the film, suggesting a depiction of a lesbian couple.

Violence

Medium

The movie features frequent cartoonish and slapstick violence, including explosions, property destruction, and large-scale battles, but generally without graphic gore or lasting injuries. The central conflict involves birds attacking pigs to retrieve stolen eggs, with violence being a primary method for resolving the conflict.

There is frequent cartoon violence shown throughout the film, varying from one-on-one physical fighting to large-scale bombing of houses and villages, particularly when the birds retaliate against the pigs for stealing their eggs. The pigs use TNT to blow up the birds' village, and later the birds use TNT to blow up the pigs' town. While characters get cuts and bruises, no one explicitly dies in these explosions.

Romance and Sexual Content

Medium

The film includes mild sexual references, suggestive humor, and partial nudity, predominantly in the form of innuendo and crude jokes rather than explicit content. These elements contribute to the film's 'rude humor' descriptor.

The pigs' boat contains a book titled '50 Shades of Green,' and a pig is shown sticking plungers on his chest to resemble breasts. While singing a cowboy song, the pigs rip off their pants and throw them into the audience. Mighty Eagle is seen spying on female birds through binoculars, and Chuck makes thrusting motions while suggesting the ladies 'get busy laying some eggs tonight.' A pig also shakes and slaps his bottom.

Profanity

Medium

The movie contains mild profanity and crude language, including terms that sound like swearing, name-calling, and various instances of potty humor. These are generally used for comedic effect.

Examples of coarse language include 'Oh my God,' 'bird-butt,' and phrases that sound like swearing such as 'pluck my life' and 'big flocking deal.' Potty humor is present, notably when Mighty Eagle urinates into a lake where Chuck and Bomb have just been swimming, which Red calls a 'lake of whizz.' Another instance includes 'Fart Face' written on a pig's stomach.

Substance Use

Medium

The movie includes several instances of substance use, primarily involving alcohol and the inhalation of helium, generally depicted casually or in a comedic context rather than highlighting addiction or severe consequences.

A montage scene shows Chuck in a bar buying everyone drinks with money he has stolen. The pigs are shown drinking wine, and both birds and pigs inhale helium from balloons.

Scary & Intense Content

Medium

The film features frightening scenes and intense animated action, which may be disturbing for younger children. These include frequent slapstick injuries, large explosions, and scenes involving the threat of harm to the unhatched eggs, creating moments of peril.

Frequent slapstick falls and injuries, such as Red falling off a cliff and bouncing off rocks and branches, might scare young children. A baby bird is also frightened when Red dresses as a scary clown. The pigs steal all of the birds' eggs, which are presented as their 'unhatched babies,' leading to scenes where the eggs are dangling above a vat, creating a sense of intense peril for the young.

Disrespect & Rebellion

Medium

The main character, Red, initially exhibits significant disrespect and rebellious behavior due to his anger issues, clashing with the cheerful bird community and authority figures. While this is a central theme leading to his character development, his initial actions model defiance and questioning of established norms.

Red is sent to anger management classes by Judge Peckinpah after an incident where he 'bombs a customer in a fit of anger,' demonstrating his initial defiance of social norms and authority. Red frequently expresses cynicism and distrust towards the cheerful, naive bird community and its leaders, challenging their optimistic views and ultimately rebelling against their passive approach to the pigs' presence.

Anti-Christian Themes

Medium

The film does not contain explicit anti-Christian themes. However, some Christian reviews interpreted certain character portrayals, particularly Chuck's characteristics, as offensive. Additionally, the depiction of Mighty Eagle as a flawed, lazy 'deity' figure whom the birds initially revere but who turns out to be ineffective could be interpreted by some as implicitly critical of blind faith in a higher power without personal action.

A Christian review explicitly states that Chuck, the yellow bird, is 'obviously homosexual, as evidenced by several comments and even a dream sequence involving Mighty Eagle,' concluding the movie is 'NOT suitable for Christian children' from that specific perspective. Mighty Eagle is depicted as a mythical, religious figure revered by the birds, but when Red and his friends find him, he is a self-absorbed slacker who disappoints their expectations, suggesting that blind faith in a distant deity is misguided and personal action is required.

Witchcraft & Occult

Low

No explicit themes of witchcraft, sorcery, occult practices, or demonic elements were found in the movie. The narrative focuses on action and comedy without supernatural or mystical plot devices, magic rituals, spells, or interactions with supernatural entities.

The film does not depict characters performing magic rituals, using spells, or engaging with supernatural entities. There are no plot points revolving around harmful curses, black magic, or explicit occult symbolism.

Other Notes

Target Demographic

The MPAA rated The Angry Birds Movie (2016) as PG for rude humor and action. Various parental reviews suggest it is not suitable for children under 6 due to animated violence, frightening scenes, crude humor, and sexual references, recommending parental guidance for ages 6-8. Therefore, an overall age recommendation of 8+ is appropriate for this film.

Additional Notes

The film received mixed reviews from critics but generally positive reception from audiences, scoring a 'B+' on CinemaScore. Parents should be aware of the consistent presence of crude humor, animated violence, and subtle suggestive content, which led some reviewers to suggest a PG-13 rating would have been more appropriate for very young or sensitive children. While 'The Angry Birds Movie' is a standalone narrative, later installments in the franchise, such as 'The Angry Birds Movie 2,' may shift themes, for example, moving towards a union of birds and pigs.

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Is The Angry Birds Movie right for your family?

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