Storks
Detailed parental analysis
Storks is a fast-paced family animated comedy driven by generous visual humour and an almost constant energy. The story follows a delivery stork and a young human girl raised within the company who, by accident, find themselves having to deliver a baby to its parents whilst navigating countless mishaps. The film targets young children with parental accompaniment, with a layer of references and humorous winks intended for adults.
Parental and Family Portrayals
This is the emotional heart of the film. The parents of the little boy who orders a baby are workaholics disconnected from their child, too absorbed by their careers to listen to him or play with him. The narrative offers them a genuine moment of realisation and treats this subject with real lightness that does not prevent emotion from coming through. The sequence in which Junior and Tulip attempt to put the baby to sleep is a moment of remarkable universality about parental exhaustion and love. The film makes clear that time given to a child is worth more than professional success, without ever caricaturing the parents.
Violence
The violence is entirely slapstick and without lasting consequences: blows with sticks, falls, crashes, explosions, a wing caught in machinery. It is omnipresent and forms the main engine of physical comedy. The intensity stays within the codes of traditional animation and does not seek to disturb deeply, but the frequency is high and certain repeated scenes of peril may unsettle very young children or those sensitive to danger. The treatment of the little bird by the boss, used as an object, merits separate mention: it may seem cruel to a young child, even if the tone remains burlesque.
Underlying Values
The film operates a discrete but readable critique of corporate capitalism: an institution once devoted to human welfare, the delivery of babies, has been converted into a profit machine, and it is precisely this system that generates the problems of the narrative. The value of the mission accomplished, of care given to the vulnerable, and of responsibility towards others is carried by the two protagonists against the performance logic of their hierarchy. These stakes remain in the background and never weigh down the comedy, but they offer an interesting angle for discussion among attentive parents.
Sex and Nudity
Nudity is limited to baby's bottom and a towel that falls pixelated on screen, with no suggestive intent whatsoever. Allusions to reproduction remain light and phrased in a way that passes over children's heads whilst amusing adults. Nothing that warrants particular warning.
Discrimination
The film includes in its closing montage diverse families, including couples of two mothers and two fathers welcoming a baby, without didacticism or particular emphasis. Should your child ask questions about these images, it is a natural opportunity for discussion. The character with the distinctive hairstyle leading the operation has drawn comment, but remains too underdeveloped to constitute an explicit caricature.
Strengths
The film maintains its pace with real mastery of physical comedy and visual timing, particularly in action sequences choreographed like situational comedy. The writing manages to make innocent childish humour coexist with observations about parenthood that ring true for adults, without one overwhelming the other. The sequence of the insomniac baby is notably of remarkable emotional effectiveness within the genre. The film also poses, in an accessible form, a narrative question about what an institution is worth when it abandons its original purpose for the sake of performance.
Age recommendation and discussion points
The film is suitable from age 6 onwards, ideally with parental accompaniment between 6 and 8 years old for children sensitive to repeated scenes of peril. Two angles for discussion after viewing: ask your child why the film's parents do not spend enough time with their son and what this changes for him, then explore together what the storks were doing before and why they changed professions.
Synopsis
Storks deliver babies…or at least they used to. Now they deliver packages for a global internet retail giant. Junior, the company’s top delivery stork, is about to be promoted when he accidentally activates the Baby Making Machine, producing an adorable and wholly unauthorized baby girl...
Where to watch
Availability checked on Apr 27, 2026
About this title
- Format
- Feature film
- Year
- 2016
- Runtime
- 1h 27m
- Countries
- United States of America
- Original language
- EN
- Directed by
- Doug Sweetland, Nicholas Stoller
- Main cast
- Andy Samberg, Katie Crown, Kelsey Grammer, Jennifer Aniston, Ty Burrell, Anton Starkman, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Stephen Kramer Glickman, Danny Trejo
- Studios
- RatPac Entertainment, Warner Animation Group, Warner Bros. Pictures, Stoller Global Solutions
Content barometer
- Violence2/5Moderate
- Fear2/5A few scenes
- Sexuality1/5Allusions
- Language0/5None
- Narrative complexity1/5Accessible
- Adult themes0/5None
Values conveyed
- Friendship
- Acceptance of difference
- Perseverance
- Compassion
- family
- solidarity
- belonging
- responsibility
- courage