The Angry Birds Movie

‘Not as bad as it should’ve been’. That’s not exactly overwhelming praise, but it’s about all this shameless, occasionally entertaining cash-in deserves. Arriving a good couple of years after the smartphone game ‘Angry Birds’ hit peak addiction, the animated movie spin-off takes the basic idea of coloured birds slingshotting themselves at devious pigs (if you’ve not played it, why on Earth are you reading this?) and transforms it into a brash, sarcastic just-about-family-friendly adventure.

There’s more than a hint of ‘Cars’ in the set-up, which takes place on an island paradise entirely populated by flightless birds that talk and act like suburban Americans. The only bird not happy with his lot is Red (voiced by Jason Sudeikis), whose inability to control his temper sees him sentenced to anger management classes. However, Red’s rage comes in handy when the island is invaded by boatloads of apparently friendly pigs. The porkers’ fondness for trampolining and party tunes hides their lust for the one thing they don’t have on their own island: eggs.

If you loved the game, you might enjoy watching the script contort itself into ever more zany shapes to incorporate the necessary elements: giant slings, teetering towers, boomeranging toucans. But it’s not enough to counteract the tiresome, sub-’Lego Movie’ snarkiness of the script or the bright, busy and unengaging animation.