I thought I was going to get into some trouble when it came to watching, “Spies in Disguise.” My son had been at it for a while about wanting to go check this one out. On Saturday morning, as I was laying in bed wishing I could go back to sleep, I remembered the music video for Dierks Bentley, “Livin.” He wakes up really early on a Saturday, frustrated because he wants to go back to bed, only to realize that it’s never going to happen because he has small children. This was my life on Saturday morning. So, instead of laying there and wasting away, I thought, well, I can always save a bunch of money if I hit the early bird show at the theater house. You know me, whatever it takes to save a buck. Luckily for my son, the AMC theater at Lynnhaven was still showing, “Spies In Disguise.” So, we went and checked it out.
The film follows, “Lance,” the world’s greatest detective who has just been turned into a pigeon. A pigeon? Yes, a pigeon. All thanks to Walter, voiced by Tom Holland, a self-described “weirdo” who likes to experiment outside of the box when it comes to gadgets for spies to use. Walter was inspired by his Mom to go into law enforcement because she was a cop. Walter reminds me of James Bond’s weapon guy. You know, the guy who hands 007 a pin that also doubles as a tracking device? Walter uses his kindness to stop bad guys without hurting them. Working together with Lance, along with some other pigeons, they’re tasked to save the world.
First of all, if I didn’t lose you at the whole pigeon transformation thing, good. It sounds crazy, but as Walter said in the movie, nobody ever recognizes a pigeon, a pigeon is the ultimate spy disguise. This movie was surprisingly entertaining. As I was watching with my son, I kept thinking to myself, this is “Die Hard” but a cartoon. It was action-packed and didn’t drag a bit. The continuity was there and it had a nice flow. Usually, the cartoon movies drag for me because of the love songs and the whole, I think I love you moment we see. This movie didn’t really have any of that. The only thing that kind of sort of gets sentimental is when Walter thinks about his momma. Other than that, just Walter and a bunch of pigeons trying to save the world.
It came out of nowhere to hear Reba McEntire voice the role of Joyless, the spy in charge of all the other spies. She was great!
The cheeseburger and chicken sliders were a nice compliment to a movie just over an hour and a half. For me, combine “Die Hard with “James Bond” and you’ve got “Spies In Disguise.” I don’t think this film got nearly enough credit. This is by far, the best animation/action/comedy cartoon movie I’ve seen in a long time. Better jump on this one quick before it’s gone. “Spies In Disguise” is rated PG and is currently playing at the Lynnhaven Mall theater. This one definitely passes the 9-year-old test, my son has already started asking me when it will be streaming on prime.
