Spies in Disguise – Unbird This (Early Review)

Who would’ve thought that a movie about a spy that gets turned into a bird would be one of the safest-playing films of the year?

Over the past few months, it’s been fascinating to look at the movies acquired by Disney in their Fox merger, and how well they fit into their overall brand image. A lot of questionable releases for the company are to come, such as the supremely-eerie looking Antlers. However, Spies in Disguise is a film that makes so much sense for them. It has the visual appeal and the overall look of what Pixar and Walt Disney Studios Animation have been striving for over the past few years. However, it’s just too unfortunate that the film itself lacks the genius that is seen within it’s concept.

First off, it’s worth noting how impressive the production quality is here. Spies in Disguise is absolutely one of the most visually pleasing CG animated films in recent memory, and it fits so perfectly into Disney’s brand. Everything from the character designs, to the landscapes and sets and even some of the beautiful neon blues and bright greens present are quite impressive. Everything about the look of this film is completely immersive, and this makes the film worth a viewing alone. It’s quite sonically pleasing as well – and not as headache inducing as many child-oriented animated films are. It’s just hard not to wish all this technical talent was put into something more worthwhile.

A lot of the espionage that this film takes on is surprisingly well done, and it truly nails that aspect of the story without pandering, or being too forward with it’s satire. Because of this, the true audience for Spies in Disguise are those that are too young for the Bond type of spy film, and for them – this is pretty solid entry into the genre. Unfortunately, the ridiculousness of the concept does not match up well with the story at all – as it all gets jumbled together in a way that’s questionably hard to follow for a children’s animated film.

It’s absolutely worth noting here that conceptually, Spies in Disguise is brilliant. There is so much room for expansion here, and it’s too bad that the film is taken in a direction that doesn’t fully take advantage of it’s silly premise. This was truly a missed opportunity, as there is so much that could’ve been done in a truly clever way but instead, the material is rather dumbed down to appeal to a primarily younger audience. Some of the gags here are genuinely funny, and a huge shoutout to DJ Khaled for his voice-work that will leave audiences howling of laughter as Ears. However, 75 percent of the jokes don’t land, and often reach borderline annoying territory.

From a visual, sonic and conceptual standpoint, Spies in Disguise is surprisingly effective and quite appealing. It’s just too unfortunate that the film panders way too hard to the younger audiences it’s made for, which feels like a truly missed opportunity.

*still courtesy of 20th Century Fox*

Follow me on twitter @daniel_azbel and on letterboxd @danthemovieman.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook.

dannythemovieman