ABC Film Challenge – Animation – Z – Spycies (2019). This is under Z because of co-director Zhiyi Zhang.
Director: Guillaume Ivernel, Zhiyi Zhang
Writer: Stephane Carraz, Michel Pages, Zhiyi Zhang (Screenplay)
Starring: (Voice Talents) Kirk Thornton, Dino Andrade, Salli Saffioti, Karen Strassman, Jamieson Price
Plot: Vladimir and Hector, two secret agents opposed in every way, are trying to recover a top secret material stolen by unknown intruders.
Tagline – Get ready for Mission Impawsible!
Runtime: 1 Hour 39 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Spycies starts when super slick spy Vladimir sees his latest mission get the case he is after. But destroys part of the city along the way. Vladimir is exiled to a platform working with the social awkward Hector, who is technologically skilled.
When the two find what they are guarding stolen. They must learn to work together to recover the lost item. Which could be turned into a dangerous weapon on the world.
Thoughts on Spycies
Characters
Vladimir is the spy who thinks he is the best in the agency. He will get the job done, but he will often leave destruction in his path. He prefers to work alone and will need to learn to work with others to make up for his mistakes. Which will give him the life lesson on solving crimes the right way.
Hector is the lone agent living alone on a platform protecting a rare material. He is more of a tech specialist. He does come off as someone who has been alone in the world a lot more, leading to him talking too much. The pair are very different, but must work together.
Mia is a super celebrity that is the star of the show that Hector loves, which is just one of the many different potential suspects. Along with the friendly nurse Chloe, the doctor who has his own story and the strict boss of Vladimir, Kotor. We do get a host of characters which make this a more enjoyable journey.
Story
The story here follows an unlikely spy pairing that must work together to get the bottom of what happened on their exiled location. This is a spy movie that seems like it will be basic, with the whole needing to learn to work together. It does end up becoming a lot bigger than this, with plenty of different directions it could end up going. This is a fun story, one that will keep you guessing, while having plenty of bigger real-world messages going on within the world.
Themes – Spycies is a beautiful animation creation, with different creatures or environments all looking flawless throughout the film. When it comes to the action, each moment does feel like it has come from other movies and developed to play to the strength of different creatures we see in the film too.
Spycies is an enjoyable animation, which is filled with plenty of fun throughout, giving us a story which will keep us guessing.
