THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 2

US, 2019, 97 minutes, Colour.
Voices of: Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Leslie Jones, Bill Hader, Rachel Bloom, Awkwafina, Sterling K.Brown, Eugenio Derbez, Tiffany Haddish, Danny McBride?, Peter Dinklage, Pete Davidson, Maya Rudolph.
Directed by Thurop Van Orman and John Rice.

For young audiences who enjoyed the original Angry Birds Movie and the exploits of its central character the all-red Red, the hero who saves the day, this will be a welcome entertainment. As we watch the characters and their repartee, the oddball situations, the somewhat slapstick humour, it is clear that this is a film for younger children – with the adults accompanying them perhaps finding it somewhat trying.

The old characters are back and the children in the audience may well be able to explain who they are and what they did. There is some animosity in the opening of the film as we go to Bird Island where the birds are in conflict with the island over the water, inhabited by pigs (not exactly looking like pigs in the animation). The actual word, retaliation, is spoken. (One hopes that this is not going to be one of those tit-for-tat succession of conflicts – referred to as pranks).

Suddenly a frozen island appears disturbing the inter-island conflicts and the pigs sending over messages pleading for a truce, to do battle with the common enemy.

We are given some glimpses of what it is like to live in the frozen volcano island, the oddball inhabitants led by a tall and scrawny bird, voiced by Tiffany Haddish.

Well, there are all kinds of interactions, tactics, the caption telling us in large caps that there is a PLAN.

This involves Red (voiced by Jason Sudeikis), his pal Chuck (Josh Gad) and an array of birds, young and old, especially three little chicks who are waiting for eggs to hatch, losing them out at sea at one stage, their being brought to shore by waves at another (and a joke at the end when it appears that they are the eggs of a mother snake).

There are heroics from the large Eagle (comically voiced by the small Peter Dinklage) and a happy and romantic ending – and, despite his continual attempts at modesty, a romantic ending for Red with the savvy bird, Silver (Rachel Bloom), who devised the successful plan.

There is no reason not to expect more Angry Bird entertainments.