Storks

Convoluted animation featuring the voices of Andy Samberg and Kelsey Grammer
'Storks' is the classic answer given to inquisitive children who want to know where babies come from. This feature from Warner Animation Group dodges any awkward questions by suggesting that storks used to deliver babies, but they reconfigured their skill set to become an Amazon-style delivery service called Cornerstore. It's an interesting idea, but doesn't make sense and the narrative of this film, from directors Nicholas Stoller and Doug Sweetland, never resolves the problem.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Andy Samberg is the voice of Junior, a stork who aspires to the corporate heights of his boss Hunter (Kelsey Grammer). His promotion is threatened when Tulip (Katie Crown), a human orphan who works on Stork Mountain, allows a request for a baby to be processed. Attempting to cover up the error, Junior and Tulip set out to covertly deliver the baby to the Gardner family, parents Sarah and Henry (Jennifer Aniston and Ty Burrell) and son Nate (Anton Starkman), who desires a playmate to join in his ninja-action fantasies.
Storks offers bright and colourful animation, and Samberg's comic talents transfer well to Junior, who demonstrates can-do spirit and exasperation in equal measure. There's also some amusing cameo work from comic duo Key and Peele, and from hard-man Danny Trejo, who similarly sent himself up in Muppets Most Wanted, which was co-written by Stoller.
Small children might just find the film's energy enough to please, but the plot-holes stop Storks from taking flight. It's hard to understand how the stork universe works; if the storks no longer deliver babies, where did Nate come from? Despite the presence of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) as executive producers, the convoluted plot of Storks may leave both parents and children scratching their heads.
General release from Fri 14 Oct.