Brad Copeland (Ferdinand) teams up with newcomer Lloyd Taylor to write Spies in Disguise, directed by feature-length first-timers Nick Bruno and Troy Quane. While the story is acceptable and the moral is commendable, there isn't enough there to make it a holiday hit for children.
Lance Sterling (Will Smith) is the world's greatest secret agent, capable of taking out a legion of villains on his own. But when his latest mission leaves him looking like the villain, he must enlist the aid of the world's weirdest spy tech designer, Walter Beckett (Tom Holland). Together, they must track down the real villain. Unfortunately, there is one small problem - Walter's tech has turned Lance into a pigeon. To save the world, they need to overcome this issue, as well as pursuit from both sides of the conflict and their respective differences on how to handle the case.
The script is decent, but far from perfect. The first two acts of the film depend too much on low-brow humor - the kind that is at least as gross as it is funny. Character development is rushed, with very little included to give hints to the history that has driven the chain of unfolding events. Finally, in the third act, the script picks up, and the story really starts to shine. This gives the feeling that the whole point has been the moral, and getting there didn't matter as much. Except for this, the conclusion plays out well, hitting home the lesson that just because someone is different, it doesn't make them wrong, inferior, or even worse - beneath notice.
Will Smith is the perfect choice to emulate the sophisticated swagger of Agent Sterling, with just the right amount of comedic skills to handle his transformation into a pigeon. Tom Holland, after his appearances as Peter Parker in the Marvel universe, plays the role of nerdy, idealistic Beckett to a tee.
The animation takes some getting used to at first, as there isn't any consistency to the odd-shaped heads of the characters, but it is fluid and otherwise easy to follow, which is a credit to the animators. The action is driven by a background score that is just there enough to enhance the imagery rather than overwhelm it. Despite the script, from a technical aspect, the film is appealing.
Spies in Disguise is likely to be entertaining for the pre-teen audience, but there isn't enough there for anyone else that might be viewing it. Neither bad nor overwhelmingly great, it is salvaged by its moral of acceptance, hiding in plain sight.