Story
Storks used to be responsible for delivering babies all around the world, but these days, it’s safer and more profitable for them just to deliver parcels. Babies are risky business!
At cornerstore.com, a huge offshore delivery company run by storks, an up-and-coming corporate climber, Junior (voice of Andy Samberg), is looking forward to promotion. The only catch is that he has to find a way to fire the company’s only human employee, the calamitous orphan Tulip (voice of Katie Crown).
Junior’s chance at a promotion is jeopardised when Tulip accidentally turns on the ancient baby-making machine and creates the first baby that the company has made for decades. Junior thinks that the best way to deal with the situation is to deliver the baby as quickly as they can without letting his boss find out. A wild adventure follows, which sees Junior and Tulip form a strong friendship while on their perilous journey to deliver the baby. Meanwhile the head boss of cornerstore.com, Hunter (voice of Kelsey Grammer), has discovered their baby delivery plan and plots to sabotage their efforts.
Themes
The question of where babies come from; the importance of family; being an only child; being an orphan; adoption; friendship
Violence
Storks has some violence. For example:
- There is a lot of slapstick violence in this movie. Examples include a scene where Junior must run through a glass factory as fast as possible. Because storks can’t see glass he continually smacks into large panes of glass.
- Hunter, the boss of cornerstore.com, likes to use cute little birds as objects to play with. He is seen squeezing one roughly as if it’s a stress ball, using one as a golf ball and so on. Later in the movie, the little birds take revenge.
- Junior shouts at Tulip so loudly that she falls backwards out of an aeroplane.
- Tulip makes the baby laugh by hitting Junior over the head repeatedly with sticks. This is used as a strategy to escape from a risky situation.
Content that may disturb children
Under 5
In addition to the violent scenes mentioned above, Storks has some scenes that could scare or disturb children under five years. For example:
- Many scenes show characters in very perilous situations, like in planes falling out of the sky and crashing, explosions, and collapsing buildings. These could make small children feel scared or anxious.
- The pace of the movie is very fast and frantic. Some children might find this disturbing.
- Junior, Tulip and the baby are chased by a pack of wolves that want to eat them. They have glowing eyes and howl and screech. They are sometimes very scary and other times very funny.
- Hunter tries to destroy the baby-making factory by driving a huge robotic vehicle through the babies. Nobody is hurt.
- The entire cornerstore.com factory collapses into the ocean.
From 5-8
In addition to the scenes and scary visual images mentioned above, Storks has some scenes that could worry children in this age group. For example:
- A young boy feels sad and lonely because his busy parents emotionally neglect him and he doesn’t have any siblings. This is resolved during the movie.
- Tulip is an orphan and talks about finding her ‘real family’.
From 8-13
Nothing in the movie is likely to disturb children in this age group.
Over 13
Nothing of concern
Sexual references
Storks has some sexual references. For examples, adults laugh about how babies are made now that storks don’t deliver them and the story might lead to questions about how babies are made.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
None of concern
Nudity and sexual activity
Storks shows some nudity. For example, one of the characters is in a sauna. When he steps outside his towel falls off. The bottom half of his body is seen as a blur.
Product placement
The following products are displayed or used in Storks: Google. Merchandise associated with the movie is also being marketed to children.
Coarse language
There is some mild coarse language and insults in Storks.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Storks is a fast-paced comedy adventure, which is also sweet, silly and sometimes very funny.
Because of the movie’s violence and scary scenes, we don’t recommend it for children under 6 years and we recommend parental guidance for children aged 6-8 years. The movie also has some humour targeted towards adults, and children might be puzzled about how babies are really made.
The main messages from this movie are about the value of childhood and the importance of friendship and family.
You could also talk with your children about:
- power relationships in companies and workplaces
- children’s feelings when their parents don’t have time to spend with them.