Storks is Fun for the Whole Family

Storks takes place in a world where babies are delivered to expecting parents by a company named Cornerstone, whose employees are storks and other birds. With changing times, Cornerstone moves its focus from baby delivery to parcel delivery, and discontinues baby production altogether after a mishap leaves a baby girl named Tulip in the care of the company.

Nearly two decades later, we meet Junior (Andy Samberg), Cornerstone’s best stork who is in line for the CEO position. One of Junior’s final tests for the job is to fire the eccentric Tulip (Katie Crown), but finding a soft spot for the lovable misfit, Junior instead relegates her to guarding the defunct baby-making machine. But when a hopeful little boy named Nate Gardner actually writers to Cornerstone requesting a baby brother, Junior’s worst nightmare happens: Tulip creates a baby to fill Nate’s request.

In order to keep his promotion prospects alive, Junior runs off with Tulip and the baby to make a secret delivery to the Gardners. But when Junior’s company rival Pigeon Toady (Stephen Kramer Glickman) catches wind of the plan, Junior, Tulip, and baby Gardner have their simple journey turn into a dangerous race against the clock.

On the surface, Storks seems like the sort of the material designed to make a fluffy children’s movie that has little substance; however, directors Nick Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The Muppets) and Doug Sweetland (Toy Story 1 & 2, The Incredibles) actually craft a wonderful parable about the joys, strains, and all-around absurdity of parenting, and what the true meaning of family is.

The real strength of Storks is the script by Stoller, which wonderfully blends absurdity, sentiment, and keen observational humor to create a fun and colorful film that’s pleasantly unique (read: strange), while being both entertaining for kids, and enjoyable for adults. There are zany, Looney Tunes-style hijinks; witty quips only the adults will get; smart pop-culture references; and a fun blend of real-world and fantastical elements. All in all, Storks is a strange smorgasbord, but it kind of somehow works in a harmless, easily-digestible way.

The animation is classic (read, a little dated) cartoony design, and while the details of this Warner Bros. Animation production aren’t as sharp and crisp as your average Pixar movie, having a Pixar alumni like Sweetland on hand helps the film make the most out of the production resources it has. Storks looks “fun” more so than “gorgeous.” Stoller’s adult comedy edge is sometimes at odds with the kiddie nature of the material, which creates several weirdly offbeat moments (see: Pigeon Toady) – but on the whole, there’s a good balance where moments work on two levels, appealing to both young and old.

The voice cast is pretty strong, with Andy Samberg and Katie Crown really excelling at bringing Junior and Tulip to life. Ty Burrell and Jennifer Aniston are great with the banter as mom and dad Gardner, Nate’s workaholic parents. Also stealing scenes is Kelsey Grammer, as Junior’s corporate shark boss, Hunter.

In the end, Storks may not go down as a classic like some of Pixar’s best, but it is a good film suited for a family matinee viewing. You wouldn’t think that baby making could get any more fun, but Storks may prove your wrong.

Storks is now in theaters, it is 89 minutes long, and is Rated PG for mild action and some thematic elements.