Spies in Disguise

Locations
Call Number: Blu-ray Animation Spies
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Traverwood Branch, Westgate Branch

Originally released as a motion picture in 2019.
Wide screen (2.39:1).
Will Smith, Tom Holland, Karen Gillan, Ben Mendelsohn, Rashida Jones, Rachel Brosnahan, Reba McEntire, Masi Oka, Carla Jimenez, Dj Khaled.
Super spy Lance Sterling and scientist Walter Beckett are almost exact opposites. Lance is smooth, suave, and debonair. Walter is not. But when events take an unexpected turn, this unlikely duo is forced to team up for the ultimate mission that will require an almost impossible disguise, transforming Lance into the brave, fierce, majestic pigeon. Walter and Lance suddenly have to work as a team, or the whole world is in peril.

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Great Cast, Okay Script, Terrible Character Design submitted by Meginator on August 11, 2021, 5:09pm While I did ultimately enjoy this film, it was more for the technical aspects than the characters, story, or humor. I couldn’t reconcile the character design, with the unnatural bodies that don’t make physical sense and a pigeon side character with...something (a lollipop? a candle? a firecracker?) seemingly stuck to its head. I understand that this is animation, but my first glimpse of the main character threw me right out of the world of the story and I never really came back. That said, the plot and character development are fine, following a familiar enemies-to-partners trajectory with an uneasy dash of sociopolitical commentary thrown in for good measure, and the animation has a few absolutely brilliant moments and fun visual jokes that make the most out of current technological capabilities; the film does, however, fall into the unfortunate trap of having a Black protagonist spend much of the running time as an animal (sigh). The voice cast is outstanding from top to bottom, including a wonderful and unexpected supporting performance from DJ Khaled, but I just couldn’t connect with the characters because every twist and turn felt familiar. The film has excellent acting and enough visual jokes to satisfy a younger audience, but emotionally it fell a bit flat for me.