Spies in Disguise

Spies in Disguise is a bright and cheerful animated action comedy that gets some great use out of its two big name stars serving as the lead voice talents.  Will Smith is clearly having a lot of fun playing Lance, the cocky Number One Super Spy in the World.  Meanwhile, Tom Holland brings a lot of charm as Walter, the nerdy tech guy for Lance's spy organization who ends up turning the spy into a pigeon with the aid of a formula he's been developing.

To be perfectly fair, Walter's idea does have some merit.  After all, pigeons are everywhere and nobody ever notices them.  What better way for a spy to be covert than to disguise himself as one of the feathered creatures?  The idea is different to be sure, but then Walter thinks differently than the other tech guys at the spy agency.  While all the other scientists are working on Bond-inspired laser pens and heat rays, he's developing a glitter bomb that explodes in a shower of sparkly glitter that takes on the image of an adorable kitten in order to distract the villains.  He's a pacifist at heart, and doesn't want to hurt anyone, not even the bad guys.  "Good or bad, people are people", he argues.  Lance brushes him and his ideals off initially when they first meet, but will have to turn to him for help after a villain with a robotic arm (voice by Ben Mendelsohn) frames Lance for stealing a deadly new weapon, and threatens to expose the identities of the entire secret spy service, putting the entire agency in mortal danger.

This is what leads to Lance drinking the experimental formula that turns him into a pigeon.  He will use his new form to gather clues about who is framing him, and how they can be stopped.  As a bird, Lance keeps his personality, but also develops some more pigeon-like habits, such as finding food lying on the ground irresistible.  There's some other gross bird facts that Lance discovers that are sure to have the kids in the audience screaming with laughter.  For the adults, there's some clever dialogue and word-play between Smith and Holland that is surprisingly sharp.  They develop a genuinely sweet odd couple relationship during the course of the film as well, as Lance learns to rely on someone else after years of "flying solo", and Walter learns that his odd ideas and way of thinking can be useful after a lifetime of humiliation and rejection.

Spies in Disguise hits a lot of familiar beats, such as the spy spoof and the mismatched buddy comedy, but it manages to stand out thanks to a script that's a bit smarter than you would expect.  I was surprised to learn the villain's motives have nothing to do with ruling the world, but rather due to a personal loss.  Any movie that teaches kids that actions can have unforeseen consequences is always okay with me.  There's also a very game cast who know how to sell the jokes.  Outside of Smith and Holland, there are some strong voice over performances here by Rashida Jones as an agent trying to track Lance down, thinking he's a traitor, Masi Oka as a Japanese crimelord, and country singer Reba McEntire as the head of the spy agency.  There is also a trio of pigeons who team up with Lance in his bird form, and end up stealing a lot of scenes, despite not having any dialogue.

With Frozen II being far enough in the rear-view mirror, this will more than make do for families looking for animated entertainment over the holiday break.  It's got more than enough slapstick and mildly gross humor for kids, and some funny dialogue and smart ideas for the parents.  My only wish?  The film is based on an animated short called Pigeon: Impossible, and I wish they had kept the original title.

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