How can you go wrong with Will Smith and Tom Holland together in an animated movie? That’s right… you can’t.
I enjoyed the new animated movie from Blue Sky called Spies in Disguise which takes super spy Lance Sterling (Will Smith) and accidentally turns him into a pigeon. Walter Beckett (Tom Holland), a genius-level Q-type of character has been designing non-lethal ways to carry out their job and winds up involved up to his neck when he goes along with newly-pigeon Lance on a mission to stop the villainous villain with a robot hand (Ben Mendelsohn).
While the story here is predictable, I did admire the message of trying to do this job in a better way, a way that respects life and understands that life is precious. The gadgets that Walter invents are cute and creative, bringing laughs to the film.
The best part of the movie is definitely the voice acting as Will Smith and Tom Holland are tremendous, both together and separate. There is a clear connection between the two characters that help make this movie more than what is looks to be on paper. This is a good example of talented actors elevating the material above what it should be at. They bring some solid character moments into the story that were welcome.
The animation is bright and colorful, always engaging to watch. The set pieces were excellent and various.
The level of animated movies this year has not reached the quality of past years, but Spies in Disguise is a solid, if not spectacular addition to the list and should fly near the top of the list for 2019.
