| Storks | |
|---|---|
_poster_2.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | |
| Written by | Nicholas Stoller |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Simon Dunsdon |
| Edited by | John Venzon |
| Music by | |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 87 minutes[2] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $70 million[2] |
| Box office | $183.4 million[2] |
Storks is a 2016 American animatedadventurecomedy film directed byNicholas Stoller andDoug Sweetland, and written by Stoller. The film stars the voices ofAndy Samberg,Katie Crown,Kelsey Grammer,Jennifer Aniston,Ty Burrell,Keegan-Michael Key,Jordan Peele andDanny Trejo. The film follows two distribution centre employees—hotshot package deliveringstork Junior and his human colleague Tulip—who accidentally create a baby using a defunct baby factory. In order to protect the baby from the company's manager, the two embark on a journey to deliver the baby to her family.
AfterWarner Animation Group was founded in January 2013, the project was announced, with Sweetland attached to direct the film, while Stoller was hired by the studio to create and write the film. It was announced in April 2015 that Stoller and Sweetland would co-direct the film, and Stoller would produce the film alongsideBrad Lewis. The main cast was announced soon after.Mychael andJeff Danna composed the film's musical score. The animation was provided bySony Pictures Imageworks.
Storks premiered inCalifornia on September 17, 2016, and was theatrically released in the United States byWarner Bros. Pictures on September 23.[3] The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the animation, humor and voice acting, but criticized the story. It was a commercial success, earning $183 million worldwide against a $70 million budget.
For generations, the storks of Stork Mountaindelivered babies to families around the world, until one stork named Jasperimprinted on an infant girl and attempted to keep her for himself. Jasper accidentally dropped the infant's address beacon, shattering it, and went into exile. Unable to deliver the orphaned girl, the storks adopted her under the name Tulip. CEO stork Hunter discontinues baby delivery in favor of online package delivery with Cornerstore.com.
Eighteen years later, Tulip, now a teenager, tries to promote new ideas for Cornerstore, which backfire and cause the company to lose stocks. One day, Hunter declares her to be a severe burden and liability due to this incompetence. Hunter explains to Junior, his top employee, that he is being promoted to chairman, and so he chooses him to take his place as boss, exciting Junior. Hunter assigns Junior with firing Tulip before being promoted to boss. Junior cannot bring himself to do so and instead transfers Tulip to the mailroom.
Meanwhile, a 4-year-old young boy named Nate Gardner, who lives with hisworkaholic parents Henry and Sarah, is lonely and wants a younger sibling. He sends a letter to Cornerstore and it reaches Tulip, who enters the defunct baby factory and inserts the letter into the baby-making machine, causing it to create a pink-haired infant girl. Junior injures his wing trying to turn off the machine. Afraid that Hunter will fire him, Junior agrees to accompany Tulip and secretly deliver the baby to her family using a makeshift flying craft that Tulip invented. They eventually crash, escape a pack of wolves that fall in love with the baby, and reach civilization, during which Junior and Tulip bond with the baby and name her Diamond Destiny. Meanwhile, Henry and Sarah open up to Nate's desire for a younger sibling and bond with their son by building a landing platform for the storks.
Junior and Tulip encounter Jasper, who had followed them from Stork Mountain. Jasper has nearly repaired Tulip's delivery beacon, but is missing one piece, which had been in Tulip's possession for years. Junior confesses to Tulip that he was supposed to fire her but could not bring himself to do it, and a saddened Tulip leaves with Jasper to meet her family while Junior continues alone to deliver Destiny. Cornerstore's pigeon employee Toady learns about Destiny and informs Hunter, who reroutes her address beacon and leads Junior into a trap. Hunter has Destiny taken away to live withpenguins in order to silence the incident and prevent more plummeting stocks while Junior is tied up and gagged.
Tulip reunites with Junior and frees him. They return to Stork Mountain during the highly anticipated Storkcon event to save Destiny from the penguins. When they are cornered in the baby factory by Hunter and the other stork employees, Junior sends millions of archived letters from families into the baby-making machine, causing it to rapidly produce babies and distract the storks. Hunter seizes control of a giant crane and tries to destroy the factory, but Destiny finds the crane's controls and causes Hunter to lose control and cut the lines holding Cornerstore on; Cornerstore and Hunter fall off the mountain. As a final resort, he makes an attempt to take Junior and Tulip down with him, but fails, as the robot falls down and Junior starts flying again.
In the aftermath of Cornerstore's destruction, Junior rallies the storks to deliver all the babies to their families around the world. Junior, Tulip, and Jasper deliver Destiny to the Gardners. Nate is at first disappointed about not getting a brother but quickly cheers up upon seeing his new sister's ninja skills. Tulip finally meets her missing family, and Junior continues working as the co-boss at Stork Mountain.
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The project was first announced in January 2013, whenWarner 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 writeStorks, whileDoug Sweetland was attached to direct the film.[8] On April 20, 2015,Andy Samberg andKelsey Grammer were added to the voice cast of the film, and it was announced that Stoller and Sweetland would co-direct the film, while Stoller would produce the film alongsideBrad Lewis.[4] The original idea film was developed underWarner Animation Group.[4] By December 2015,Keegan-Michael Key andJordan Peele were also added to the cast who provided their voices for the film.[6] On June 15, 2016,Jennifer Aniston,Ty Burrell, and Anton Starkman were added to the cast.[7]Sony Pictures Imageworks handled animation services for the film.[9]
| Storks (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | September 16, 2016 | |||
| Recorded | 2016 | |||
| Genre | Film score | |||
| Length | 50:02 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | WaterTower Music | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Compiler | WaterTower Music | |||
| WaterTower Music Soundtrack albums chronology | ||||
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| Jeff Danna &Mychael Danna Soundtrack albums chronology | ||||
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The film's score was composed byMychael andJeff Danna. The soundtrack also contains "Holdin' Out", performed byThe Lumineers. The soundtrack was released on September 16, 2016, byWaterTower Music. The film featured songs "Good Day " byDNCE, "How You Like Me Now" byThe Heavy, "And She Was" byTalking Heads, "Keep on Loving You" byREO Speedwagon, and "Fire and the Flood" byVance Joy, but these songs do not feature in the soundtrack. The song "Kiss the Sky" byJason Derulo was made for the film but does not appear on the soundtrack.
The Japanese release uses "Heiwa" byAi as its theme song, named after her daughter.[10][11]
All tracks are written and performed byJeff Danna andMychael Danna, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Stork Mountain" | 1:08 |
| 2. | "Our New Phones" | 0:42 |
| 3. | "Boss" | 2:13 |
| 4. | "Orphan Tulip" | 1:25 |
| 5. | "I Want a Baby Brother" | 2:59 |
| 6. | "Bored, Bored, Bored" | 0:36 |
| 7. | "Ninja Force Attack" | 1:02 |
| 8. | "Monumental Screw Up" | 1:40 |
| 9. | "The Baby Factory" | 2:13 |
| 10. | "Deliver This Thing" | 1:31 |
| 11. | "Five More Minutes, And Then We Stop" | 1:40 |
| 12. | "Good Day Orphan Tulip" | 1:07 |
| 13. | "Wolf Pack" | 3:38 |
| 14. | "Fleeting Moments, Precious Memories" | 1:40 |
| 15. | "You'll Find Your Family" | 1:31 |
| 16. | "Suddenly, You're In a Suit" | 0:54 |
| 17. | "At the Harbour" | 2:03 |
| 18. | "Defusing Diamond Destiny" | 2:01 |
| 19. | "I Have the Missing Piece" | 1:09 |
| 20. | "Tulip's Family" | 1:57 |
| 21. | "Gentrification" | 1:36 |
| 22. | "Return To Cornerstore" | 0:59 |
| 23. | "They Don't Deliver Babies" | 1:17 |
| 24. | "Sphericus" | 1:24 |
| 25. | "Hand Over the Package" | 0:56 |
| 26. | "A Million Babies" | 1:55 |
| 27. | "Destroy the Baby Machine" | 2:07 |
| 28. | "This Is Our Mission" | 1:16 |
| 29. | "Always Deliver" | 2:03 |
| 30. | "Holdin' Out" (Written byJeremiah Fraites andWesley Schultz, Performed byThe Lumineers) | 3:06 |
| Total length: | 50:02 | |
Storks was originally going to be released on February 10, 2017, which Warner Bros. had reset forThe Lego Batman Movie.[12] The film was released on September 23, 2016, which was previously set forThe Lego Ninjago Movie, which was then moved to a year later.[4]Storks was preceded byThe Master, a five-minute short film based on theLego Ninjago line of sets,[13] the short was later re-released in cinemas withThe Lego Batman Movie in selected cinemas in the UK.
Storks was released byWarner Home Video onBlu-ray (2D, 3D and 4K Ultra HD) andDVD on December 20, 2016, with a digital release on December 6, 2016. Extras included a two-minute short film, titledStorks: Guide to Your New Baby (with onscreen titlePigeon Toady's Guide to Baby's[14]) and theLego Ninjago short film,The Master.[15][16]
Storks grossed $72.7 million in the United States and Canada and $109.7 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $182.4 million, against a budget of $70 million.[2]
In the United States and Canada,Storks opened alongsideThe Magnificent Seven and was originally projected to gross around $30 million from 3,922 theaters in its opening weekend,[17][18] with some estimates reaching $36 million.[19]The Hollywood Reporter noted that in recent decades,Warner Bros. has not been able to produce very successful and lucrative animated films except forSpace Jam in 1996,The Polar Express in 2004,Happy Feet in 2006, andThe Lego Movie in 2014 and that the studio is hopingStorks would duplicate that success.[20] 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 behindThe Magnificent Seven's $35 million debut.[21]
Internationally, the film opened in conjuncture with its North American debut across 34 foreign territories, including the likes of Russia, China, India, and Japan.[18]
Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 65% based on 138 reviews and has an average rating of 6.10/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Colorful animation and a charming cast helpStorks achieve a limited liftoff, but scattershot gags and a confused, hyperactively unspooled plot keep it from truly soaring."[22] OnMetacritic, the film has a score of 56 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[23] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[24]
Michael Rechtshaffen ofThe 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."[25] Peter Hartlaub ofSan 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."[26] Tom Russo ofThe Boston Globe gave the film three stars out of four 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 featureStorks delivers the same."[27]
Owen Gleiberman ofVariety gave the film a mixed review and called it "a strenuously unfunny animated comedy".[28] Samantha Ladwig ofIGN rated the film a4+1⁄2 (of 10) and said "Storks starts off well enough and delivers a few laughs, but ultimately it isn't quite sure of what it is."[29] Jesse Hassenger ofThe 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."[30]
Joe Morgenstern ofThe 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."[31] Barbara VanDenburgh ofThe 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."[32]
Storks was noted for its inclusion of same-gender couples.[33][34][35][36][37]GLAAD called it "casually inclusive of same-sex couples."[38][39]
| Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement, Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production | Katie Crown | Nominated | [40] |
| Heartland Film Festival 2016 | Truly Moving Picture Award | Nicholas Stoller | Won | [41] |
| Hollywood Film Awards | Hollywood Film Composer Award | Mychael Danna (also forBilly Lynn's Long Halftime Walk) | Won | [42] |
| Village Voice Film Poll | Best Animated Feature | "Storks" | Nominated | [43] |
It's refreshing to see a "family" oriented film like Storks be so casually inclusive of same-sex couples.
