'Angry Birds Summer Madness' Review: The Internet's favorite furious furballs are back!
In the last few years, we have seen a fair amount of spin-off projects or adaptations (feature films and series) based on popular video games. The projects are announced and launched with great fanfare but there's one thing that remains uncertain. Reception. The makers are often uncertain about the way fans of the respective video games will receive the projects. The uncertainty comes from the right place, for adaptations like 'Warcraft,' 'Need for Speed' and 'Assassin's Creed' faced the wrath of gamers and regular filmgoers alike.
'Angry Birds Summer Madness,' however, is one of those few adaptations that could fare decently owing to the content and its target audience. The series, based on the blockbuster 'Angry Birds' film franchise, follows the escapades of the younger versions of Red, Chuck, Bomb, and Stella at summer camp.
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The series starts with a bird couple sending out care packages for their child at Camp Splinterwoods. They place the package on a giant catapult, a key object in the Angry Birds universe, and fire in the direction of the camp. The package isn't the only thing being catapulted into the summer camp. The viewer is also being flung along and we land on the court where we see Red and friends shooting hoops. 'Angry Birds Summer Madness' moves at a rapid pace from the moment we see them and the creators have done a fabulous job at making sure that nothing feels hurried ever. Through the course of the series, the writers (headed by Scott Sonneborn) weave valuable adult-like lessons in child-sized bites.
A particular episode involving Chuck and his constant need to make people love him stands out the most, at least for me. We see him go to painstaking levels to pander to this need but it's the damage that it does to his close ones that makes him realize the issue with it. Another instance, sees a Pig wander into Camp Splinterwoods. Now those familiar with how 'Angry Birds' works would expect a standoff but that's not what the viewer gets. Instead, the episode ends up becoming a masterclass in acceptance and smashing barriers.
The voice actors have really outdone themselves, playing their parts and emoting perfectly at the right moments. The background score, a juxtaposition of classic tunes from the hit video game and the usual kids' show melodies, works for most parts.
All in all, 'Angry Birds Summer Madness' is an experience that could be of value for the kids as well as their parents. Head over to Netflix to catch it!