Storks (film)

Storks

Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Produced by
Written by Nicholas Stoller
Starring
Music by
Cinematography Simon Dunsdon
Edited by John Venzon
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
Running time
 87 minutes[2]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $70 million[3]
Box office $177.3 million[3]

Storks is a 2016 American 3D computer-animated adventure buddy comedy film produced by Warner Animation Group, RatPac-Dune Entertainment[1] and Stoller Global Solutions. It is directed by Nicholas Stoller and Doug Sweetland (in his feature debut), written by Stoller and stars the voices of Andy Samberg, Katie Crown, Kelsey Grammer, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Anton Starkman, Jennifer Aniston, Ty Burrell, Danny Trejo and Stephen Kramer Glickman.

The film premiered in Los Angeles on September 17, 2016 and was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on September 23, 2016 in 3D, IMAX[4] and conventional formats. Storks has grossed over $177 million worldwide.

Plot

Cornerstore was a place known for delivering babies and its employees are primarily storks, along with a few other birds. The current CEO of Cornerstore, a stork named Hunter (Kelsey Grammer), discontinued the baby delivering business, seeing more profit by converting the company to a parcel delivery service. However the last infant from before baby delivery was discontinued, Tulip, could not be delivered and was taken in by the company as an orphan.

Tulip (Katie Crown), having just turned 18 years old, is working to promote new ideas for Cornerstore, but they always backfire. Meanwhile Junior (Andy Samberg), Cornerstore's top delivery stork, is about to be given his much coveted promotion to boss of Cornerstore while Hunter is about to be promoted as chairman of the board. In order for his promotion to be effective, Hunter demands that Junior fires Tulip from the company due to her antics causing Cornerstore to suffer losses. Despite wanting his promotion very badly, Junior cannot find the heart to fire Tulip due to her kindness and hard work. He therefore misleads her into believing that she is being transferred to the mail room as a kind of promotion and ordering her to never leave her new office space, to which she hesitantly obeys.

Meanwhile a young boy named Nate Gardner (Anton Starkman) feels lonely because his parents, Henry (Ty Burrell) and Sarah (Jennifer Aniston), are too busy to spend time with him and yearns for a younger brother. When his parents scoff at the idea and he learns from an old brochure about Cornerstore and their former baby-making reputation, he writes a letter asking for a baby brother and sends it to Cornerstore. The letter makes its way to Tulip, who got so bored of waiting, disobeys Junior's orders and puts the letter in a slot just outside the room, which is revealed to be the shut down baby factory (as she was supposed to put it in a containment of letters right next to her). Junior tries to intervene and stop the machine, but dislocates his wing in the process, and to their surprise, a baby girl is created inside a metal container, whom they later name Diamond Destiny.

Knowing that Hunter will cease his future position of becoming boss for creating an unauthorized infant and for not firing Tulip as he was supposed to do, Junior agrees to secretly help deliver Diamond Destiny. As Junior's wing seems to be broken, they use Tulip's flying machine for transportation. When Tulip taunts Junior why he wants to become boss, he sees red, making Tulip become concerned for the safety of Diamond Destiny, and they crash into a frozen tundra. After a brief argument, Junior takes Diamond Destiny in the hopes of getting back to Cornerstore but is ambushed by two wolf leaders named Alpha (Keegan-Michael Key) and Beta (Jordan Peele) and their pack and taken to their cave, where Tulip was also captured. The two manage to save Diamond Destiny, whom the wolves have fallen in love with, and escape.

Back at Cornerstore, a pigeon employee named Toady (Stephen Kramer Glickman) learns of Diamond Destiny's existence. He goes after Junior and Tulip to get Diamond Destiny, in the hope that Hunter will fire Junior and he will get the promotion instead. Upon reporting back to Hunter, Toady and Hunter scramble the coordinates Junior and Tulip have been following to mislead them to a different location. After another brief encounter with the wolves, Junior and Tulip run into Jasper (Danny Trejo), an old stork that was ultimately responsible for Tulip being orphaned and the shut down of baby delivery after he broke her address beacon and wanted to keep her to himself. Jasper reveals that he had searched all of Tulip's lifetime attempting to fix the beacon that would show Tulip's home and that he needed the final piece which Tulip had on her the whole time. At this point, Junior reveals that he was supposed to fire Tulip, leaving her in tears. But, now knowing where her family is, Jasper decides to take her to be reunited with them while Junior sadly continues to deliver Diamond Destiny by himself.

Junior is captured and tied up by Hunter and his cronies at the false location and they kidnap Diamond Destiny. Tulip comes to rescue Junior without having met her family and the two resend themselves back to Cornerstore. After fighting an army of penguins, Junior and Tulip are chased into the abandoned baby making room and start up the machine as a distraction. As thousands of babies are being made, Hunter angrily comes at Junior and Tulip with a large body armor, but with the playful help of Diamond Destiny, Junior and Tulip cause the Cornerstore package factory to fall taking Hunter with it and seemingly killing him. Before he falls to his doom, Hunter takes Junior, Tulip, and Diamond Destiny with him but they fly back up and it is revealed that Junior's wing was not broken at all.

Junior rallies the storks, as well as the other birds, to help deliver the babies to the families who wanted them including the Gardners. Upon delivering Diamond Destiny, Junior sees through a vision of what the infant will become to be: a woman that will love her family, take ballet and ninja classes, and get married. At first, Nate is disappointed that he didn't receive a brother. But when he goes to feed Diamond Destiny, she flings the bottle across the street using her ninja skills, therefore changing Nate's mind.

The storks, former employees of Cornerstore and the wolf pack reunite Tulip with her expanded family, and she and Junior continue their job of delivering babies as co-bosses of Stork Mountain. In the end, every family now knows that storks deliver babies once again.

Cast

Different baby sound effects were made to provide both Diamond Destiny's voice and other babies' voices too.

Production

The project was first announced in January 2013, when Warner Bros. formed its animation "think tank" with some directors and writers to develop animated films, Nicholas Stoller was hired by the studio to create and write Storks, while Doug Sweetland was attached to direct the film.[9] On April 20, 2015, Andy Samberg and Kelsey Grammer were added to the voice cast of the film, and it was announced that Stoller and Sweetland would co-direct the 3D film, while Stoller would produce the film along with Brad Lewis.[5] The original idea film was developed under Warner Bros. Animation.[5] Sony Pictures Imageworks will be the film's animation service.[10] Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele were also announced in the cast who provided their voices for the film.[7] On June 15, 2016, Jennifer Aniston was announced in the cast.[8]

Music

Soundtrack

Storks: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Film score by Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna
Released September 16, 2016
Recorded 2016
Genre Film score
Length 49:49
Label WaterTower Music
Producer Mychael Danna
Jeff Danna
Mychael Danna film scores chronology
The Good Dinosaur
(2015)		 Storks
(2016)		 Collateral Beauty
(2016)
Jeff Danna chronology
The Good Dinosaur
(2015)		 Storks
(2016)

The film’s score was composed by Mychael and Jeff Danna. The soundtrack also contains "Holdin' Out", performed by The Lumineers. The soundtrack was released on September 16, 2016 by WaterTower Music.

Track listing

All music composed by Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna (except "Holdin' Out").

Release

Storks was originally going to be released on February 10, 2017, which Warner Bros. had reset for The Lego Batman Movie.[11] The film was released on September 23, 2016, which was previously set for The Lego Ninjago Movie, which has now moved to a year later.[5] Storks is proceeded by The Master, a five-minute short film based on the Lego Ninjago line of sets.[12]

Home media

Storks will be released by Warner Home Video on Blu-ray (2D, 3D and 4K Ultra HD) and DVD on December 20, 2016, with a digital release on December 6, 2016. The releases will be accompanied with the Lego Ninjago short film, The Master.[13][14]

Reception

Box office

As of October 30, 2016, Storks has grossed $71.3 million in the USA & Canada, and $105.7 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $177.0 million against a budget of $70 million.[3]

In the United States and Canada, Storks opened alongside The Magnificent Seven was originally projected to gross around $30 million from 3,922 theaters in its opening weekend,[15][16] with some estimates reaching $36 million.[17] The Hollywood Reporter noted that in recent decades, Warner Bros. hasn't been able to produce very successful and lucrative animated films except for The Lego Movie in 2014 and that the studio is hoping Storks would duplicate that success.[18] It grossed $435,000 from its Thursday previews and just $5.7 million on its first day, lowering weekend projections to $20 million. It ended up opening to $21.8 million, finishing second at the box office behind The Magnificent Seven's $35 million debut.[19] Internationally, the film opened in conjuncture with its North American debut across 34 foreign territories, including the likes of Russia, China, India and Japan.[16] It ultimately grossed over $177 million worldwide, more than doubling its $70 million budget and making it a box-office success.

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 63% based on 108 reviews and has an average rating of 6/10. The site's consensus reads, "Colorful animation and a charming cast help Storks achieve a limited liftoff, but scattershot gags and a confused, hyperactively unspooled plot keep it from truly soaring".[20] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 56 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[21] Audiences rated the film an average "A–" grade on CinemaScore.[22]

Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review and said: "There's a nice, snappy playfulness in the rapport between Samberg and engaging newcomer Crown. That lively, back-and-forth vibe also extends to the Aniston/Burrell and Key/Peele dynamic."[23] Peter Hartlaub of San Francisco Chronicle wrote: "Whoever is running Warner Animation Group appears to be allowing the lunatics to run the asylum. And that is a wonderful thing."[24] Tom Russo of The Boston Globe gave the film 3 stars out of 4 and said "Storks are known for delivering bundles that are irresistible, exhaustingly active at times, and frequently pretty darn messy. How completely appropriate, then, that Warner Bros.' 3-D animated feature Storks delivers the same."[25]

Owen Gleiberman of Variety gave the film a mixed review and called it "a strenuously unfunny animated comedy."[26] Samantha Ladwig of IGN gave the film 4.5/10 and said "Storks starts off well enough and delivers a few laughs, but ultimately it isn’t quite sure of what it is."[27] Jesse Hassenger of The A.V. Club noted the "filmmakers’ assumption...that if lines are said very fast and in silly voices, they will become funny," and criticized Warner Bros. for putting out a generic animation along the same, safe lines of what "other second-tier animation houses" are producing: "The Lego Movie brought with it the hope that the studio might reclaim some of the animation territory it has long ceded to other studios. Storks, though, is just another okay cartoon."[28]

Joe Morgenstern of Wall Street Journal gave the film a negative review, saying "The whole movie seems to be on fast-forward, with crushingly brainless dialogue, hollow imagery and no way of slowing down the febrile action or making sense of the chaotic plot."[29] Barbara VanDenburgh of The Arizona Republic said, "Storks is charmless with rote obligation. This is a kid’s film for hire, with none of the creativity, emotion and design that elevate the genre to art, or even simply a fun time at the movies."[30]

Accolades

Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Annie Awards Outstanding Achievement, Editorial in an Animated Feature Production Kevin Pavlovic Pending [31]
Hollywood Film Awards Hollywood Film Composer Award Mychael Danna (also for Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk) Won [32]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Rechtshaffen, Michael (September 20, 2016). "'Storks': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  2. ↑
  3. 1 2 3 "Storks (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Storks". Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Sneider, Jeff (April 20, 2015). "Andy Samberg, Kelsey Grammer to Voice Animated 'Storks' for WB". thewrap.com. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Gettell, Oliver (June 15, 2016). "Meet the cast and characters of 'Storks'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 Perry, Spencer (December 16, 2015). "First Look at Animated Movie Storks Featuring Andy Samberg". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 Gettell, Oliver (June 15, 2016). "Jennifer Aniston completes cast of animated movie Storks — exclusive". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  9. ↑ Kit, Borys (January 7, 2013). "Warner Bros. Creates Animation Film Think Tank". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Storks". Sony Pictures Imageworks. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  11. ↑ McNary, Dave (August 6, 2014). "Warner Bros. Dates Animated Films for 2018 and 2019". variety.com. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  12. ↑ Giardina, Carolyn (August 25, 2016). "New Lego Short 'The Master' to Debut Before 'Storks'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Warner Bros.' 'Storks' Arrives on Blu-ray December 6". Animation World Network. November 17, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  14. ↑ Cohen, Steven (November 16, 2016). "'Storks' Blu-ray & Ultra HD Blu-ray Announced". High-Def Digest. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  15. ↑ Anthony D'Alessandro (September 20, 2016). "'Magnificent Seven' Guns For No. 1, But Will Tracking Cut It Off At The Pass? – B.O. Preview". Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  16. 1 2 Brent Lang (September 20, 2016). "'The Magnificent Seven,' 'Storks' Swoop in to Save the Box Office". Variety. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  17. ↑ Boxoffice Staff (September 21, 2016). "Weekend Forecast: 'The Magnificent Seven' & 'Storks'".
  18. ↑ Pamela McClintock (September 22, 2016). "Box-Office Preview: Will 'Magnificent Seven' Gallop Past 'Storks'?". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  19. ↑ Anthony D'Alessandro (September 24, 2016). "'Magnificent Seven' Roping $35.3M Opening; Stick A Fork In 'Storks'". Deadline.com. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Storks (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Storks reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  22. ↑ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
  23. ↑ "'Storks': Film Review". Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  24. ↑ Hartlaub, Peter. "'Storks' gives birth to inspired offbeat comedy". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  25. ↑ Russo, Tom. "Imagine Amazon Drones with Feathers and Long Beaks," Boston Globe (Sept. 21, 2016).
  26. ↑ Gleiberman, Owen (20 September 2016). "Film Review: 'Storks'". Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  27. ↑ Ladwig, Samantha (21 September 2016). "Storks Review". Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  28. ↑ Hassenger, Jesse (Sep 22, 2016). "Storks delivers all the jabbering of your typical big-studio cartoon". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  29. ↑ Morgenstern, Joe (22 September 2016). "'The Magnificent Seven' and 'Storks' Reviews: Vacant Vessels". Retrieved 19 October 2016 – via Wall Street Journal.
  30. ↑ VanDenburgh, Barbara (Sep 22, 2016). "Witless 'Storks' fails to deliver laughs". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  31. ↑ "44th Annie Award Nominees". International Animated Film Society. November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  32. ↑ "Tom Ford, Marc Platt & Kenneth Lonergan to be Honored". Hollywood Film Awards. October 19, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016.

External links

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