Let’s be real. Nobody expected the first film to be a masterpiece. It was a movie based on a mobile game where you slingshot flightless birds at green pigs who have a weird obsession with eggs. It was fine. It made money. But when The Angry Birds Movie 2 dropped in 2019, something strange happened. The critics actually liked it. Like, really liked it. It currently sits with a 73% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is higher than most people would guess for a sequel to a gaming app adaptation. It’s one of those rare cases where a sequel completely outshines its predecessor by leaning into the absolute absurdity of its own premise.
The movie doesn’t try to be deep. It isn't trying to be Toy Story. Instead, it pivots into a frantic, neon-colored heist movie that feels more like an episode of Looney Tunes on caffeine than a standard corporate animation project.
The Weird Shift From Rivals to Roommates
In the first film, Red was the hero because he was the only one rightfully suspicious of the pigs. He was the grumpy guy who turned out to be right. In The Angry Birds Movie 2, that dynamic gets flipped on its head because a new threat emerges: Zeta. She’s an eagle living on an island made of literal ice, and she’s tired of her life being a frozen nightmare. She starts launching giant ice balls at both Bird Island and Piggy Island, forcing the mortal enemies to sign a shaky truce.
This is where the movie finds its rhythm.
Watching Red and Leonard (the King Pig) try to work together is genuinely funny. Red is terrified of losing his status as the "hero" of the island. He has deep-seated insecurities that the movie actually explores in a way that feels honest, even if he is a giant red ball with feathers. He’s a guy whose entire identity is built on being the protector, and when he has to share that spotlight with a pig who has a gadget for everything, he crumbles. It’s a classic buddy-cop dynamic. But with more snout-related jokes.
Why the Animation Matters More Than You Think
Sony Pictures Imageworks handled the animation, and honestly, they went hard. You can see the individual fibers on the birds. You can see the translucent quality of the ice. But it’s the physical comedy that stands out. Director Thurop Van Orman, who created The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, brought a specific kind of chaotic energy to the production.
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There is a sequence in the movie involving a Trojan Horse-style break-in. The team is wearing a giant, clunky eagle suit to sneak into Zeta’s base. It leads to a three-minute-long bathroom scene that is arguably the peak of slapstick animation in the late 2010s. It’s uncomfortable, it’s frantic, and it’s perfectly timed. Most kids' movies today rely on pop culture references that will be dated in six months. The Angry Birds Movie 2 relies on the oldest trick in the book: high-quality physical gags.
Meet Silver: The Brains of the Operation
One of the smartest moves the writers made was introducing Silver. She’s Chuck’s sister and an actual engineer. In a movie filled with characters who mostly just scream or explode, she brings a logic-based humor that balances the scales. Rachel Bloom voices her with this rapid-fire, slightly anxious intelligence that makes her the perfect foil for Red’s ego.
Their "will-they-won't-they" isn't the point. The point is that Silver is objectively better at planning than Red is, and watching him deal with that realization is where the real heart of the movie sits. It’s a subtle lesson about leadership and ego that manages not to feel like a "very special episode" of a Saturday morning cartoon.
The Subplot That Stole the Show
While the main heist is happening, there’s a subplot involving three hatchlings trying to get some lost eggs back. It has absolutely zero impact on the main plot for 90% of the runtime. Usually, this is where a movie drags. You want to get back to the "real" story.
But these hatchlings? They are basically the Scrat (from Ice Age) of this franchise. They end up in space. They fight a snake. They accidentally swap their eggs for rocks. It’s pure, unadulterated nonsense. It works because it’s short. The pacing is snappy. The movie never lingers on a joke long enough for it to get stale.
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A Voice Cast That Actually Tries
Voice acting in big-budget animated films can often feel like a paycheck grab for A-list celebrities. You can tell when someone is just reading lines in a booth while thinking about their lunch.
That’s not the case here.
- Jason Sudeikis (Red) brings that same "lovable jerk" energy he perfected before Ted Lasso.
- Bill Hader (Leonard) is clearly having a blast doing a pompous, slightly dim-witted king.
- Leslie Jones (Zeta) is a force of nature. She plays the villain not as a cackling monster, but as a frustrated woman who just wants a tropical vacation and a decent drink.
- Josh Gad (Chuck) and Danny McBride (Bomb) do their thing, but it’s the chemistry between the group that makes it stick.
It’s a loud movie, sure. But it’s a coordinated loud.
The Reality of the Box Office vs. Quality
Surprisingly, The Angry Birds Movie 2 made less money than the first one. The first film pulled in about $350 million worldwide, while the sequel did around $150 million. Usually, that would signal a "bad" movie. In this case, it was just bad timing and a bit of "brand fatigue." People assumed it would be more of the same.
They were wrong.
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It’s one of the few instances where the sequel is a fundamental improvement in every department—writing, comedy, and visual style. It stopped trying to explain the "lore" of the game and just decided to be a fun, wacky heist film. It’s a shame more people didn't see it in theaters, but it has found a massive second life on streaming platforms like Netflix.
What You Should Take Away From This
If you’ve been skipping this one because you think it’s just for toddlers, you’re missing out on some of the best gag-based comedy in modern animation. It’s not "high art," but it is high effort.
If you're looking for something to watch, here’s how to actually appreciate it:
- Watch the "Bird Bath" scene. If you don't laugh at the sheer absurdity of the eagle-suit choreography, the movie might not be for you.
- Pay attention to the background. There are tons of visual puns in Piggy City that go by in a blink.
- Don't worry about the first movie. You really don't need to have seen it to understand what’s going on. Angry birds, green pigs, ice island. That’s the whole setup.
- Check out the soundtrack. It uses 80s and 90s tracks in ways that are actually funny, rather than just being "nostalgia bait."
The movie is a reminder that even the most "corporate" ideas can become something special when the creative team is allowed to be weird. It’s chaotic, it’s colorful, and it’s genuinely hilarious.
To get the most out of your next viewing, look for the subtle ways the film parodies classic action movies like Mission: Impossible. The "gadget" scenes with Leonard are a direct riff on the tech-heavy tropes of the genre. If you have kids, watch how they react to the hatchlings—it’s a masterclass in secondary character design. If you're a fan of animation, keep an eye on the lighting effects during the final sequence on Eagle Island; the way the light hits the ice is technically impressive for a film that features a bird with giant eyebrows.