Storks

This sweet family comedy was written and conceived by smart people who clearly know something about the project of raising children, in all its combined sweetness and bitterness. Storks is a hurricane of nonstop cartoon action, gags, and goofiness mixed with emotional sophistication that will appeal to both the young target audience and the adult sherpas who guide them safely to the theaters. That sense of protectiveness of our young is exactly the bell this movie sets out to ring, and it does so with intelligence, wit, and the right dose of silliness. Glaringly absent is any pretentiousness or condescension, and that's good news for both kids and parents. Samberg, Grammer, and Crown's voice talents are perfectly encouraged by co-directors Nicholas Stoller and Doug Sweetland. The latter was an animator on Toy Story, another great movie that authentically depicts a child's world; the animation in Storks is similarly impressive. (Watch a wolf pack collectively become a submarine on command.) And perhaps Stoller, who also co-wrote The Muppets and directed Neighbors, is responsible for the little observations that we scarcely notice in life but that resonate so strongly on the screen. (Watching enemies fight quietly so as not to wake a sleeping baby is one of the movie's funniest scenes.)

A few hesitations: Storks deliver babies? This is a far more complex proposition for parents to explain away than cars that talk and toys that live secret lives while their owners are out of sight. And it's disturbing that, at the climactic moment, the villain is clearly threatening the lives of thousands of cooing babies in favor of corporate greed. With any luck, that dark realization will go right over the head of young viewers. Lastly, it's great that Nate's workaholic parents learn how much fun it can be to work a little less (a luxury for most working parents) and spend more time with their son. But the true lesson of parenthood is the realization that it's important to spend time with your children even during all those times when it's not that much fun. Bottom line? Storks blends strong messages with a fun story -- just be ready to talk about where babies come from.