Story
The Angry Birds Movie begins on Bird Island, where most of the birds are peaceful and happy. But Red (voiced by Jason Sudeikis) has an anger problem and doesn’t get along with the other birds. After an angry incident, the judge sends Red to an anger management class with Chuck (voice of Josh Gad), who is constantly speeding, and Bomb (voice of Danny McBride), who has an explosive anger problem.
One day, some pigs visit Bird Island. Red and his angry friends are the only birds who are sceptical of the pigs’ intentions. The three angry birds must work together to figure out what the pigs are up to and then save the bird colony from the pigs’ evil plan.
Themes
Kidnapping; crime; separation from parents; anger management; social exclusion and acceptance
Violence
The Angry Birds Movie has some violence. For example:
- There is frequent cartoon violence. It varies from one-on-one physical fighting to large-scale violence like bombing houses and villages.
- The movie shows violence as a good problem-solving strategy. For example, when the pigs steal the birds’ eggs, the birds respond by attacking the pigs.
- There are lots of bombs and explosions. The pigs carry TNT and use it to blow up the birds’ village. The birds use TNT to blow up the pigs’ town. No-one dies in these explosions, but characters get cuts and bruises.
- The pigs plan to cook the eggs in a large vat. The eggs are presented as the ‘babies’ of the bird community and are shown dangling above a vat.
Sexual references
The Angry Birds Movie has some sexual references. For example:
- Some female birds flutter their eyelashes and act flirtatiously.
- In the pigs’ boat there’s a book called 50 Shades of Green.
- A pig flirts with a bird.
- A pig sticks plungers on his chest and pretends to have breasts.
- While singing a cowboy song, the pigs rip off their pants and throw them into the audience.
- Mighty Eagle spies on female birds through his binoculars.
- Chuck makes thrusting motions and suggests that the ladies should ‘get busy laying some eggs tonight’.
- Pig shakes and slaps his bottom.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
The Angry Birds Movie shows some use of substances. For example:
- A montage scene shows Chuck in a bar buying everyone some drinks with money that he has stolen.
- The pigs drink wine.
- The birds and pigs inhale helium from balloons.
Nudity and sexual activity
The Angry Birds Movie has some partial nudity. For example:
- Red shows the scrapes on his bottom from his fall off the cliff.
- Red comments that the pigs aren’t covered up by any feathers. He’s shocked by their ‘nudity’.
Product placement
The Angry Birds Movie is based on a series of apps and might act as a marketing tool for the apps and any associated merchandise.
Coarse language
The Angry Birds Movie has some coarse language and crude humour. For example:
- There are a few words that sound like swearing.
- Mighty Eagle urinates into a lake where Chuck and Bomb have just been swimming and drinking the water.
Ideas to discuss with your children
The Angry Birds Movie is based on the app Angry Birds. The movie tells the story of the pigs and the birds before the events in the app. Fans of the app are likely to enjoy the movie because it includes references to many familiar characters and events.
The movie isn’t suitable for children under six years, and we recommend parental guidance up to eight years. This is because of the movie’s animated violence, crude humour and sexual references.
The movie shows what it feels like to be an outsider. Its main positive messages are about accepting others despite their differences and working together to solve problems. Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include bravery and teamwork.
The movie does send some mixed messages about violence as an appropriate way to resolve conflict. You could also talk about these messages with your children.