The new animated film “Spies in Disguise” is a charming, fun action feature that the entire family can enjoy. Its unique take on spy movies is a refreshing change and the pigeons are as cute as can be.

The movie is based on an animated short film, “Pigeon: Impossible.” This has a different animation style and a more adversarial relationship between Walter Beckett, who is depicted more as a black-suited professional as opposed to the nerd look in the film, and the pigeon. The feature film goes far beyond this concept and improves on it considerably.

The story begins with a young Walter Beckett (Tom Holland) showing his latest invention, a glitter bomb, to his mother Wendy (Rachel Brosnahan). When told that he needs to go to school, he confesses that the other kids call him “weird.” His mother points out that “weird” is not a negative thing and christens them the “Weird Team.”

The action progresses to the future. Agent Lance Sterling (Will Smith) is in Japan trying to retrieve something stolen from The Agency. He is overseen by his supervisor, Joy (Joyless) Jenkins (Reba McEntire) via wireless communication. Disobeying her orders to not go in alone, he confronts underworld figure Kimura (Masi Oka) who has sold the device to Keller “Robohand” Killian (Ben Mendelsohn).

In the ensuing battle with minions of Kimura, Lance tries to set off one of his weapons, but instead a projection of kittens emerges which temporarily renders everyone helpless as they marvel at their cuteness (the web was created for cat videos). Lance nonetheless retrieves the case with the stolen object.

Returning to Washington, DC, headquarters (located beneath the reflecting pool by the Washington Monument), Lance is greeted as a returning hero and swaggers appropriately as he accepts his expected accolades. He goes straight to a now-adult Walter Becker and complains about the kitten weapon. Lance fires Walter, but not before Walter has mentioned a disappearing compound he is working on.

When Lance goes to meet Joyless, the briefcase is empty! Internal investigator Marcy Kappel (Rashida Jones) accuses Lance of stealing the device and hiding it. She has video of him doing this very thing. Lance cannot believe this frame-up and escapes from the building.

Walter has returned to his home. There we see the flag of his fallen mother, killed in the line of duty. Lance storms in as Walter is working on a formula to convert someone to a pigeon. Lance wants the disappearing formula now! While they bicker, Lance inadvertently drinks the pigeon formula and is morphed into the bird that he calls a “rat with wings.”

Walter talks about the advantages of being a pigeon: their ubiquity means that no one notices them spying, they can see the UV portion of the spectrum, and they are super-fast. Before any resolution occurs, agents surround the house. Walter, Lance the pigeon, and Lovey, Walter’s only friend and pet pigeon, escape in Lance’s Audi RSQ e-tron car.

On Lance’s plane, they find out that Kimura is on the Mayan Riviera. While there, Lance acquires two new pigeon pals, Fanboy and Crazy Eyes, much to his chagrin. They use truth serum on Kimura to find out what he knows about Killian’s location. Of course Marcy has tracked them there, although she does not know that Lance is a pigeon. Eventually their journey takes them by boat and submarine to Venice and the North Sea in their pursuit of the nefarious Killian.

The outstanding aspect of this motion picture is the theme of using non-lethal “weapons” to take out one’s opponents. It is not only comically amusing, but also thought-provoking in a “what if” kind of way. The theme is even more interesting when you consider that Walter has every right to want to take revenge since his mother was killed by bad guys. The inventiveness of the filmmakers in designing these various modalities of catching villains is superb.

Other themes are triter. Walter’s struggle to deal with being called “weird” is like every other movie in which difference is a struggle. Of course, this is America all over. While supposedly everyone can be themselves, if you are too different, then you get shunned. The film adds nothing new to this discussion, although it can be a reinforcement to those who relate to this motif.

The other theme that seemed overdone was that of Lance wanting to work solo, and resisting trying to be a member of a team. We later find out that this is because he has lost colleagues who worked with him in the past. To protect himself, he works solo to not have to deal with issues of loss again. But the delay in telling us that this is the case makes him seem arrogant for no reason and becomes tedious until the revelation.

Another flaw is when Killian has used technology to project Lance’s face onto his own, no one in The Agency seems to suspect that this might be the case. They just accept it on face value and put Lance in handcuffs. A minor quibble, but still noticeable.

Yet the action sequences are worthy of a Bond film. The movie is rarely boring, and the novelty of Walter’s ingenious creations is wonderful. The different locations add needed diversity to the settings and are rendered very well.

The film has a definite color palette. Its use of color is marvelous. The hues just jump out of the screen with their vivacity. The filmmakers have noted specific targeting of colors, e.g., how they wanted to use blue for Lance and red for the enemy but the effect goes far beyond that in creating a believable, vibrant world.

I simply must praise the pigeon trio of Lovey, Fanboy, and Crazy Eyes. They are not only cute and adorable, but they are integrated so well into the action and plot. You genuinely grow fond of them and their loyalty. Their inclusion in the story was brilliant.

The voice casting was well-done. Each actor adds something unique to their character’s depiction.

This is a fun, thrilling action movie to see during the holiday season at a theater. There are some intense scenes where lives may be in peril, so parents take note. But consistent with Walter’s philosophy, no lasting damage is done. Overall, this is a winner.

Four out of five stars

Super spy Lance Sterling (Will Smith) and scientist Walter Beckett (Tom Holland) are almost exact opposites. Lance is smooth, suave and debonair. Walter is … not. But when events take an unexpected turn, this unlikely duo are forced to team up for the ultimate mission that will require an almost impossible disguise – transforming Lance into the brave, fierce, majestic… pigeon. Walter and Lance suddenly have to work as a team, or the whole world is in peril.

Starring: Will Smith, Tom Holland, Ben Mendelsohn, Karen Gillan, Rashida Jones, DJ Khaled, Masi Oka
Directed By: Troy Quane, Nick Bruno
Screenplay by Brad Copeland and Lloyd Taylor
Screen story by Cindy Davis, inspired by the animated short film “Pigeon Impossible” by Lucas Martell