Blue Sky Animation Studios is a company
that gets kind of overlooked in regards to discussing big animated films. This
is mostly because while they have made a couple of decent films here and there,
most of their work consists of either fairly forgettable animated films or Ice Age sequels. However, things might
look up for them after their newest animated feature, Spies in Disguise, a film that knows exactly what it is, a simple
and fun animated comedy that is executed really well. Elevated by a straight
forward story, a great duo and some fantastic animation, Spies in Disguise, ends up being one of the best films from Blue
Sky Studios by far.
Refreshing
Albeit Nothing Too New
When a famous Spy known as Lance Sterling (Will
Smith) gets framed for a crime he didn’t commit, he tries to get help from a
young scientist named Walter Beckett (Tom Holland). Beckett offers a potion to
Sterling, only for Sterling to end up turning into a pigeon. Trying to get
adjusted to his new form, Sterling and Beckett end up teaming up to not only save
Sterling’s career but potentially the world as well. On the surface, Spies in Disguise seems like a very
standard animated movie plot, feeling like various other animated movies of the
past. The basic story is very much Emperor’s
New Groove with some elements of various Spy parodies and other animated
films like The Incredibles. It is
very much a film that has various story elements that are considered clichés from
character backstory to certain dynamics. What gives Spies in Disguise a pass however is more so what the film is trying
to accomplish and how it’s executed. This is a movie that isn’t meant to be taken
ridiculously seriously and fortunately, the film has a lot of solid comedy to
boot thanks to the characters and animation. It is a joy to watch some of these
jokes unfold and while not every single one hits, some of them hit fairly hard
with a good laugh here and there. Even taking the humor out of it, the story is
still straightforward but never feels padded out with numerous scenes of
filler, which tends to be an issue with a lot of films from Blue Sky. Not only
that, but the film ultimately has a good message about embracing what makes you
unique and not being afraid of being different even when it feels like you are
not accepted because of that. Again, it is a message that has been seeing
before in animated film, but thanks to the film really showcasing why that is
important from beginning to end here, it ends up working in favors for this
animated film. It leads to an incredibly entertaining experience that feels
very refreshing to see from this studio even if it’s not the ground breaking
animated film from this year.
A
New Good Duo with Smith and Holland
Another massive strong point of Spies in Disguise is how it handles its
two leads. Will Smith is incredibly charming as Lance Sterling. Unlike most of
his other films from the past few years where he played characters that really
did not fit his style of acting, it was clear that the creators of this movie
had Smith in mind in terms of who to play this character. Smith gives a lot of
charisma to this character not only being a well-designed animated character,
but one who has a decent arch and has great timing when it comes to the film’s
fast paced sense of humor. He is also accompanied by a great sidekick with Tom
Holland who also is very well casted as Walter Beckett. Beckett helps conveys
the film’s message of embracing individuality due to how likable this character
is from the start and how great of support he is when interacting with Sterling.
In fact, most of the film relies on Holland’s and Smith’s dynamic and both
actors play off each other incredibly well. There are a decent amount of side
characters in this movie, however, unlike a lot of other Blue Sky movies where
it is too over abundant with characters that don’t add much to the story, here,
every side character gets enough attention. The film never loses any focuses on
its leads and for what some of the side characters do, they accomplish their
role in the story just fine. In reality, what really saved this movie was how
it utilizes its characters making the center focus of Will Smith and Tom
Holland being excellent highlights to what already is a very entertaining
animated feature.
Slick
and Stylized Animation
One element that excels this movie over
most other films from Blue Sky is how the film looks from an animation
perspective. The film doesn’t go for a realistic style but instead an
incredibly cartoony and over the top one. It works so well thanks to a ton of
elements played here making this film visually impressive. The character
animation itself is extremely smooth with a lot of characters giving distinct
movements and designs that really help them stand out in an already stylized
world they are in. The film is not afraid to use squash and stretch along with
extreme expressions to their full potential, creating for some downright
hilarious moments. Not just the movements, but also the colors in this film pop
out amazingly. So many shots are filled with so visually appealing set pieces
and a variety of different colors that help make this film stand out among
other animated features. It helps add to the stylized nature that is needed in
a spy film in the vein of this. The animation of Spies in Disguise really helps make it a standout and adds to the
film’s overall unique approach to creating an animated film.
A
Joyful Farce From Beginning to End
Spies in Disguise
is far from a groundbreaking or truly fantastic animated film, but it was never
its intention. The film was meant to be a farce of the film, being one that is
consistently entertaining throughout the entire runtime and it succeeds very
well at that. Thanks to a great duo of actors being utilized at their best and some
exceptional animation, Spies in Disguise
is something to not overlook. In regards to fun family films that are worth
checking out, this film in particular succeeds on that level big time and
serves as a good time. It is a refreshing and energized film that, while not
fully new in theory, manages to feel new thanks to some exceptional effort.
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