Storks (film) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Storks
Theatrical release poster
Written by	Nicholas Stoller
Starring	Andy Samberg Katie Crown Kelsey Grammer Jennifer Aniston Ty Burrell Keegan-Michael Key Jordan Peele Danny Trejo
Music by	Mychael Danna Jeff Danna
Cinematography	Simon Dunsdon
Editing by	John Venzon
Studio	Warner Animation Group RatPac-Dune Entertainment
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s)	September 17, 2016 (2016-09-17) (Regency Village Theater) September 23, 2016 (2016-09-23) (United States)
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$70 million
Money made	$183.4 million

Storks is a 2016 American 3D computer-animated adventure comedy film produced by the Warner Animation Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was directed by Nicholas Stoller and Doug Sweetland (the latter in his feature debut), written by Stoller and stars the voices of Andy Samberg, Katie Crown, Kelsey Grammer, Jennifer Aniston, Ty Burrell, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Stephen Kramer Glickman, and Danny Trejo.

The film follows a hotshot package delivering stork (Junior) and his female human partner (Tulip), working at the distribution center of an enormous online store, Cornerstore.com, situated high in the mountains. After a boy sends a letter to the company, the two accidentally create a female baby using the defunct baby factory the storks had formerly used in their original business of making and delivering babies. In order to protect the baby from the company's manager and ensure Junior's promotion to succeed him, the two set off on a journey to deliver the baby to the boy's family.

Storks premiered in Los Angeles on September 17, 2016, and was released six days later in 3D, IMAX and conventional formats. The film received generally mixed reviews from critics, who praised the animation, humor and voice acting, but criticized the screenplay. It earned $183 million worldwide against a $70 million budget.

Plot

For generations, the storks of Stork Mountain delivered babies to families around the world, until one stork named Jasper attempted to keep an infant girl for himself. Jasper accidentally destroyed the infant's address beacon and went into exile. Unable to deliver the orphaned girl, the storks adopted her under the name Tulip. CEO stork Hunter discontinued baby delivery in favor of package delivery with Cornerstore.com.

Eighteen years later, Tulip, now a young adult, tries to promote new ideas for Cornerstore, which backfire and cause the company to lose stocks. Hunter declares her to be a severe burden and liability due to this incompetence (the charts also justify this, as every time she tries to help, their profits go down, and when they do make progress, it is when she's absent). Hunter assigns top delivery stork Junior to fire Tulip so he may be promoted to boss. Junior cannot bring himself to do so and instead transfers Tulip to the mail room.

Meanwhile, a young boy named Nate Gardner, who lives with his workaholic parents Henry and Sarah, is feeling lonely and wants a younger sibling. He sends a letter to Cornerstore and it reaches Tulip, who enters the defunct baby factory and inserts the letter into the baby-making machine, causing it to create a pink-haired infant girl. Junior injures his wing trying to shut down the machine. Afraid Hunter will fire him, Junior agrees to accompany Tulip and secretly deliver the baby to her family using a makeshift flying craft that Tulip invented. They eventually crash, escape a pack of wolves that fall in love with the baby, and reach civilization, during which Junior and Tulip bond with the baby and name her Diamond Destiny. In the meantime, Henry and Sarah open up to Nate's desire for a younger sibling and spend time with their son by building a landing platform for the storks.

Junior and Tulip encounter Jasper, who had followed them from Stork Mountain. Jasper has nearly repaired Tulip's delivery beacon, but is missing one piece, which had been in Tulip's possession for years. Junior confesses to Tulip that he was supposed to fire her but couldn't bring himself to do it, and a saddened Tulip leaves with Jasper to meet her family while Junior continues alone to deliver Diamond Destiny. Cornerstore's pigeon employee Toady learns about Diamond Destiny and informs Hunter, who reroutes her address beacon and leads Junior into a trap. Hunter fires Junior and has Diamond Destiny taken away to live with penguins until she is an adult in order to silence the incident and prevent more plummeting stocks while Junior is tied up and gagged until his waiting attempt to death.

Tulip reunites with Junior from being coughed to demise and they return to Stork Mountain during the highly anticipated Storkcon event to save Diamond Destiny from the penguins. When they are cornered in the baby factory by Hunter and the other stork employees, Junior sends millions of archived letters from families into the baby-making machine, causing it to rapidly produce babies and distract the storks. Hunter seizes control of a giant crane and tries to destroy the factory, only to have Diamond Destiny and abused birds help make the Cornerstore building collapse off Stork Mountain, causing Hunter, who is trapped inside the crane and unsuccessfully attempts to kill Junior and Tulip, to fall to his death.

In the aftermath of Cornerstore.com's destruction, Junior rallies the storks to deliver all the babies to their families. Junior, Tulip, and Jasper deliver Diamond Destiny to the Gardners, and Junior has a vision of her future, taking her first steps, learning to ride a bike, being in a ballet, training her ninja skills, graduating and getting married. Nate is at first not happy about not getting a little brother but quickly cheers up upon seeing his new sister's ninja skills. Tulip finally meets her family, and Junior and Tulip continue working as co-bosses at Stork Mountain.

Voice cast

Andy Samberg, Katie Crown, Kelsey Grammer, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, and Danny Trejo, are the respective voices of Junior, Tulip, Hunter, Alpha, Beta, and Jasper in the film.

• Andy Samberg as Junior, a white stork working at Cornerstore as the company's top delivery stork, in hope of being promoted to becoming boss.
• Katie Crown as Tulip, an 18-year-old orphan human worker at Cornerstore, who wishes to find her biological family.
• Kelsey Grammer as Hunter, a golf-obsessed white stork who is the executive CEO of Cornerstore and has a hatred of baby delivery. Years ago, he closed the baby production and converted the company to a postal service.
• Jennifer Aniston as Sarah Gardner, Nate's workaholic overprotective mother who initially opposes the idea of having another child, but changes her mind after Henry convinces her.
• Ty Burrell as Henry Gardner, Nate's workaholic father who rediscovers the joy of spending time with his son and warms to the idea of having a second child.
• Anton Starkman as Nate Gardner, a 10-year-old boy with workaholic parents, causing him to feel lonely.
• Keegan-Michael Key as Alpha, a greedy-but caring wolf and the pack leader who wants to devour Junior and Tulip and adopt the baby.
• Jordan Peele as Beta, Alpha's advisor. The wolf pack adore the infant Diamond Destiny as they treat her like one of their own.
• Danny Trejo as Jasper, a giant stork working at Cornerstore. Before the baby process was shut down, Tulip was the last infant to be made, and Jasper wanted to keep her to himself.
• Stephen Kramer Glickman as Pigeon Toady, an awkward, nosy pigeon working at Cornerstore who is eager to get any kind of attention, and who points out Junior's disobedience to Hunter in order to steal Junior's promotion.
• Christopher Nicholas Smith as Dougland, a chicken incapable of flight who uses a jet pack to fly.
• Awkwafina as Quail

Additionally, Ike Barinholtz, Amanda Lund, and Jorma Taccone provided the voices for miscellaneous storks.

Soundtrack

The film's score was composed by Mychael and Jeff Danna. The soundtrack also contains "Holdin' Out", performed by The Lumineers. The soundtrack was released on September 16, 2016, by WaterTower Music. The film featured songs "How You Like Me Now" by The Heavy, "And She Was" by Talking Heads, "Keep on Loving You" by REO Speedwagon, and "Fire and the Flood" by Vance Joy, but these songs do not feature in the soundtrack. The song "Kiss the Sky" by Jason Derulo was made for the film, but does not appear on the soundtrack or the film, but was used in its trailers.

Track listing

All music composed by Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna (except "Holdin' Out").