With so much advertisement over the last few weeks, it’s a shame that Nicholas Stoller and Doug Sweetland’s new movie Storks turned out to be a disappointment. With Stoller’s past filmography – Neighbors, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek, and more – and Sweetland’s work as an animator – Toy Story, Monster’s Inc., Finding Nemo – it was difficult to not to go in with high expectations. Both directors having extensive experience in their departments, it only seems reasonable to expect an entertaining PG movie. Though many of the jokes follow through on their laughs, it’s not enough to ignore the tacky soundtrack, irritatingly fast-paced editing, and the fact that the movie isn’t quite sure what it is.

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The film is led by Junior, one of the top delivery storks working at Cornerstore.com, previous home of the Baby Factory. Junior can recite catchphrases, jingles, and the Cornerstore.com mission on the fly. So when he’s presented with the opportunity to work as a boss alongside Hunter, the head of the corporation, Junior jumps at the prospect. All Junior has to do is fire Orphan Tulip, a clumsy 18-year-old living as the only human on Stork Mountain. When the Baby Factory accidentally gets turned on, it’s up to Orphan Tulip and Junior to deliver the baby and cover up their mess along the way. Unfortunately for them, the challenge is bigger than expected.Storks starts off strong. The jokes are catchy, the challenges are clear, and the narrative seems original with its focus on adoption and what exactly family means. Like many animated films, there are plenty of jokes tailored towards adults. Nate and his family provide a lot of the laughs to older audiences as his parent’s motto is “we never stop” and pokes fun at modern day family dynamics and parenting. But like the rest of the film, the jokes are taken a little too far, to the point where parents may or may not be fumbling to answer the infamous question, “Where do babies come from?”, when the movie ends. And after ten minutes of this, the story starts to dissolve and shifts from lighthearted fun to exhaustion.Viewers are dealing with three very different characters that have three very different challenges to overcome by the end of the film. Junior (Andy Samberg) can’t seem to verbalize what exactly his desire is to become boss. Tulip (Katie Crown) battles with the idea of family, adoption, being an orphan, and what it means to go home. And finally Nate (Anton Starkman), who wants a brother more than anything in the world because he’s left alone day in and day out as his workaholic parents accommodate other people’s needs. It sounds clearer as a summary but as the film plays out, the characters are faced with sub-challenges like Junior’s overwhelming misogyny and Tulip’s offensively stereotypical attitude towards babies. And while the baby works as a connecting element for all of the characters, its inclusion as a way for Tulip to find home and Junior to get in touch with his gut is uncomfortably odd. Storks manages to wrap everything up neatly by the end of the film, yet it still manages to leave you feeling unsure as to how the story got from point A to point B.The narrative may have felt more thorough had it not been edited (John Venzon) with what feels like aggression, which I want to equate to the film being a children’s movie and so it requires attention-grabbing imagery, but feel it has more to do with channeling Stoller’s past successes. This isn’t a party or drug-related rage movie, obviously, and actually takes on a sensitive topic: adoption and what a “real” family actually means. There’s no need for poppy Jason Derulo or folksy Lumineers to tug at my heartstrings, the storyline could have done that itself but the film either doesn’t allow, or trust, you to experience some of the more serious undertones. And to be honest, the film is so chock-full of jokes and movement that it’s unclear as to whether the film itself even knows it has serious emotional undertones.As a fan of Neighbors and Monsters Inc. it seemed only reasonable to believe that Storks would be a comedic success. But it tries too hard to keep the audience entertained, almost fearing that any sort of slow down could lose its audience. For Storks, the more jokes the merrier, but for viewers this isn’t the case. It had the opportunity to speak on a newly accepted, unconventional idea that one can choose their own family, and yet it focused on reinforcing hetero stereotypes that women are run by their wombs and men are emotionally stunted.