Storks (Nickelodeon Version)

Storks is a 2019 American animated buddy slapstick adventure comedy film produced by Paramount Animation, Nickelodeon Movies, Maximum Effort, and July Moon Productions. It was directed by Mark Dindal from a screenplay written by David Reynolds, Nicholas Stoller, and Jon Vitti. The film stars the voices of Ryan Reynolds, Ginnifer Goodwin, Terence Stamp, Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman, John Mulaney, Will Forte, and Patrick Warburton. The film follows a hotshot package delivering stork Junior (Reynolds) and his female human partner Tulip (Goodwin), working at the distribution center of an enormous online store, Cornerstore.com, situated high in the mountains. After a boy named Nate Gardner (Jacob Tremblay) 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.
The main cast was announced soon after. The animation was provided by Reel FX Animation and some additional production assets were borrowed from Jellyfish Pictures.
==Plot==
For generations, the storks of Stork Mountain delivered babies to families around the world, until one stork named Jasper imprintedon an infant girl and attempted to keep her 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 discontinues 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. One day, 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 explains to Junior, his top employee, that he's being promoted to chairman, and so he chooses him to take his place as boss, exciting Junior. He assigns him to fire Tulip so he may be promoted to boss. Junior cannot bring himself to do so and instead transfers Tulip to the mailroom.
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 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 ==
*Ryan Reynolds as Junior, a white stork working at Cornerstore as the company's top delivery stork, in hope of being promoted to becoming boss.
*Ginnifer Goodwin as Tulip, an 18-year-old orphan human worker at Cornerstore, who wishes to find her biological family.
*Terence Stamp as Hunter, a cruel 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.
*Megan Mullally as Sarah Gardner, Nate's workaholic and overprotective mother who initially opposes the idea of having another child, but changes her mind after Henry convinces her.
*Nick Offerman 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.
*Jacob Tremblay as Nathan "Nate" Gardner, He is a 4-year-old boy with workaholic parents, causing him to feel lonely.
*John Mulaney as Alpha, a greedy but caring wolf and the pack leader who wants to devour Junior and Tulip and adopt the baby.
*Will Forte as Beta, a wolf and Alpha's deputy. The wolf pack adore the infant Diamond Destiny as they treat her like one of their own.
*Patrick Warburton as Jasper, a white 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 and 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.
*David Spade as Dougland, a chicken incapable of flight who uses a jet pack to fly.
*Awkwafina as Quail
==Production==
Nicholas Stoller was hired by the studio. In November 2015, Paramount Animation officially announced the project, then titled Storks, with Mark Dindal would directing the film. Ryan Reynolds and Ginnifer Goodwin were added to the voice cast of the film. It was also announced that David Reynolds and Jon Vitti will write the script, Reynolds reuniting with Dindal after having previously worked together on the Walt Disney Animation Studios films The Emperor's New Groove (2000) and Chicken Little (2005). Reel FX Animation handled animation services for the film, Jellyfish Pictures handled the additional asset production services.
==Soundtrack==
John Debney was compose the film's score, marking his third collaboration with Dindal following The Emperor's New Groove and Chicken Little. The soundtrack also contains "Holdin' Out", performed by The Lumineers and "Try Everything" by Shakira. The soundtrack was released on March 2, 2019, by Varese Sarabande. 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.
==Track listing==
All tracks are written and performed by John Debney, except where noted.