Spies in Disguise (Review)
Spies in Disguise is the Surprise Animated Film of the Year!
Blue Sky Studios isn’t an animation company I’ve put much stock into in the past. They’ve had a string of mediocre films over the years, until last years Ferdinand which was actually really good. Now with Spies in Disguise, they are threatening for “really good” to become a potential trend with their films. I wasn’t expecting much when I walked into the last animated movie of 2019, but I found myself loving how ridiculous and well-crafted Spies in Disguise turned out to be. The film takes all the tropes we love about Bond movies and adds just enough absurdity to make it a perfect kids movie that parents won’t find themselves suffering through for the sake of their brood.
The beauty of Spies in Disguise is just how absurd of a concept it is. The film revolves around the world’s greatest secret agent, Lance Sterling (Will Smith) who has a habit (like all spies) of “flying solo.” However, when he gets framed for a crime he didn’t commit, he has to turn to the one man weird enough for him to trust: gadget guru Walter (Tom Holland). Unfortunately, overconfident Sterling accidentally ingests a new formula that transforms him into a pigeon. Despite his feathered handicap, he’s still determined to stop the bad guy (Ben Mendelsohn) while outrunning the Internal Affairs agents after him (Rashida Jones, Karen Gillian, and DJ Khaled). What ensues is a globe-trotting adventure as the world’s greatest spy finally has to rely on back up in order to save the day.
First and foremost, Spies in Disguise is absolutely hilarious. I was shocked by how often and how much I was laughing throughout this film. It quite literally cracked me up the whole way through. Most of this is thanks to the charisma that Will Smith brings to the role. As a human, Sterling is almost cocky to the point where it might be possible to dislike him. When he gets turned into a pigeon though, that big attitude in a tiny package is simply perfect. Constantly annoyed with his situation and trying to maintain a sense of “cool” even as he proves to be pretty useless cracked me up repeatedly. Directors Troy Quane and Nick Bruno also bring a ton of visual comedy to bear in the film. The action sequences are chaotic, yet strangely fluid, as the characters constantly narrowly miss explosions, flying fists, and their pursuers. At the same time, a lot constantly goes wrong for our heroes as they end up getting out of sticky situations seemingly by pure luck, even if said luck leaves them as battered and bruised as the bad guys.
Spies in Disguise has a perfect voice cast. I’ve mentioned the amount of swagger that Smith brings to his performance. Holland once more brings that little-brother-you-can’t-help-but adore charm to Walter, making him a loveable goof. The rest of the film is filled with voices that you might recognize but won’t find overly distracting. Mendelsohn (who appeared in Captain Marvel earlier this year) is a chilling villain as he proves to be more than be a run of the mill psycho bent on world domination. He has an ax to grind with Sterling and is subscribing to the old world philosophy of an eye for an eye. While the rest of the film is light-hearted and cheery, Mendelsohn has all the makings of a great Bond arch-enemy and constantly reminds the audience that, while Spies in Disguise might all seem like fun and games, the fate of the world does actually hang in the balance. The same goes for Jones and her team chasing after Sterling and Walter. They all have a lot of personalities, but the big names voicing the characters never prove to be distracting. They simply add to the fun-filled chaos of the film. Overall, this might be one of the best cast in animated films I’ve seen in a long time.
Last but not least, Spies in Disguise has some delightful animation. The characters in the film are all caricatures of the actors voicing them (well, not Mendelsohn, since he’s not particularly scary-looking in person). Sterling is tall, dark, and handsome, while Walter is thin, animated, and bright-eyed. The cartoonish look to them allows all the pain and suffering their characters go through to be more laughable than cringe-inducing. At the same time, it gives them the ability to pull off some pretty impressive feats without having those moments seem too absurd. Everything just flows together and the overall design of the film is really well done. Hats off to Blue Sky Studios for their impressive filmmaking on this one. Spies in Disguise is definitely worth seeing in 3D just to enjoy the awe-inspiring and hilarious action sequences throughout it.
While I don’t think that Spies in Disguise will be winning an Oscar this year, that doesn’t make it any less worthwhile to see in theaters. It gets a little bogged down with its many themes (including “trusting people to help you,” “An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind,” and so on), but that doesn’t make them any less important for little kids to learn. It manages to offer up tons of laughs to keep adults happy, including some classic Disney-esque “these will go over your kids’ heads” ones. There are even a ton of references to Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: Far From Home movie, such as a trip to Venice and some killer drones. I couldn’t stop laughing during this delightful animated movie. While it’s not the best-animated film of the year, it definitely is one of the better comedies of 2019. Even if you don’t have kids, you might want to check this film out, especially since January probably won’t have anything good to offer for a while.
