Spies in Disguise

***Spies in Disguise*** is a 2019 American animated spy comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios. Loosely based on the 2009 animated short *Pigeon: Impossible* by Lucas Martell, the film is directed by Troy Quane and Nick Bruno, starring the voices of Will Smith, Tom Holland, Rashida Jones, Ben Mendelsohn, Reba McEntire, Rachel Brosnahan, Karen Gillan, DJ Khaled, and Masi Oka.

The film premiered at the El Capitan Theatre on December 4, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on December 25, 2019. It grossed $171 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the animation, music, humor, and vocal performances (particularly Smith and Holland).

It was the first and only film from Blue Sky Studios to be released by 20th Century Fox as a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, and the last film produced by the studio before its closure on April 10, 2021.

## Synopsis

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 what Walter lacks in social skills he makes up for in smarts and invention, creating the awesome gadgets Lance uses on his epic missions. But when events take an unexpected turn, Walter and Lance suddenly have to rely on each other in a whole new way. And if this odd couple can’t learn to work as a team, the whole world is in peril. *Spies in Disguise* is an animated comedy set in the high-octane globe-trotting world of international espionage.

## Plot

Lance Sterling, a cocky secret agent of H.T.U.V. (Honor, Trust, Unity, and Valor), is sent to recover an attack drone from Japanese arms dealer Katsu Kimura in Japan. As soon as the buyer, cybernetically enhanced terrorist Killian, arrives, Sterling breaks in against the orders of H.T.U.V. director Joy Jenkins, defeats Kimura and his gang, and manages to escape with what he believes is the briefcase containing the drone. Sterling returns to H.T.U.V. headquarters to confront Walter Beckett, a socially inept MIT graduate and outcast young scientist, for equipping nonlethal weapons into his suit. Walter tries to convince Sterling that there is a more peaceful way to save the world, but Sterling fires him.

Sterling discovers the briefcase to be empty and is confronted by Marcy Kappel, a security forces agent, who reveals footage of Sterling (actually Killian in a holographic disguise) leaving with the drone, labeling him as a traitor. Sterling escapes the H.T.U.V. and decides to track down Walter to help him disappear. Meanwhile, Killian breaks into the H.T.U.V. weapons facility.

While searching Walter's home for his invention, Sterling unknowingly ingests the concotion and transforms into a pigeon. Before Walter can try to change him back, Marcy and other H.T.U.V. agents chase the duo through the city, but they escape in Sterling's spy car. The two track down Kimura to a resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. There, they learn of Killian's whereabouts in Venice and new companions, Italy and met two new companions before Marcy and the H.T.U.V. can capture them again. On their way to Venice, Walter attempts to make an antidote but fails.

Arriving in Venice, Walter is confronted by the H.T.U.V., who are unaware of Sterling's condition. Revealing that she knows about Wendy, Walter's mother who was a police officer who died on duty, Marcy tries to convince him to help turn Sterling in, but Walter refuses. Suddenly, a drone distracts the H.T.U.V. and allows Walter and Sterling to escape. The two discover the drone carrying the H.T.U.V. agent database, and Walter manages to retrieve it. However, Killian shows up, takes the database, and prepares to kill Walter but with help from hundreds of hungry pigeons in the surrounding area, they distract Killian and flee. Disguised as Sterling once more, Killian escapes the H.T.U.V., shaking Marcy's suspicions of Sterling upon her seeing him with a robot hand.

Whilst underwater in a submarine, Walter reveals he planted a tracking device on Killian and locates him at the weapons facility. Walter manages to perfect the antidote and successfully turns Sterling human again. Reaching Killian's hideout, Sterling, concerned about Walter's safety, sends him away in the submarine. Once inside, Sterling confronts Killian but is defeated and captured as Killian reveals he has mass-produced hundreds of drones to target everyone at the agency using the database as revenge for killing his crew in a past mission led by Sterling. Noticing Walter returning in the submarine, Killian destroys it; unbeknownst to them, Walter survives with one of his inventions.

Once Walter frees Sterling, the two escape and contacts Marcy for support as the drones approach H.T.U.V. headquarters in Washington, D.C.. Walter attempts to hack into Killian's bionic arm. When Killian realizes this, he tries to flee with a drone, but Walter catches up. Walter risks his life by trapping Killian in one of his protective gadgets and deactivates the villain's arm as he falls, but Sterling, who has turned himself back into a pigeon, flies for the first time and carries him to safety with help from other pigeons, and Killian is found and arrested.

Despite saving the world, Sterling and Walter are fired for disobedience. However, they are later reinstated by the H.T.U.V. as the agency could learn from Walter's more peaceful ways of handling villainy.

## Cast

*The full list of credits can be found **here**.*
### Main cast

* Will Smith as Lance Sterling
* Tom Holland as Walter Beckett
	+ Jarrett Bruno as Young Walter
* Rashida Jones as Marcy Kappel
* Ben Mendelsohn as Killian
* Reba McEntire as Joy Jenkins
* Rachel Brosnahan as Wendy Beckett
* Karen Gillan as Eyes
* DJ Khaled as Ears
* Masi Oka as Katsu Kimura

### Minor cast

* Carla Jimenez as Geraldine
* Olly Murs as Junior Agent #1
* Jarrett Bruno as Pigeon Voice
* Claire Crosby as Unitee
* Mark Ronson as Agency Control Room Technician
* Tawny Newsome as Agency Employee #1
* JB Blanc as Agency Employee #2 and Marcy's Agent #3
* Adrian Gonzalez as Agency Employee #3 and Marcy's Agent #1
* William Christopher Stephens as Agency Employee #4 / Marcy's Agent #5
* Bex Marsh as Agency Employee #5 and Female Tourist
* Peter S. Kim as Agency Employee #6, Joon, and Marcy's Agent #4
* Gabriel Conte as Agency Employee #7
* Jess Conte as Agency Employee #8
* Rashawn Nadine Scott as Agency Employee #9
* Stefania Spampinato as Agency Employee #10 and Italian Woman
* Nick Bruno as Agency Employee #11 and Pigeon Voice
* Troy Quane as Agency Employee #12
* Eddie Mujica as Agency Accountant and Male Tourist
* Emily Altman as Lead Agency Lab Tech and Scooter Girl
* Randy Trager as Terrance and Pigeon Voice
* Christopher Campbell as Marcy's Agent #2
* Matthew J. Munn as Weapons Lab Soldier
* Kimberly Brooks as Lance's Car
* Youn So as Soo-Min
* Min-Hyuck Jang as Joon
* Randall Thom as Pigeon Voice and various voices
* Krizia Bajos as Receptionist at Playa del Carmen
* Reggie de Leon as Weapons Lab Tech
* Paolo Constantino Cenci as Scooter Guy
* Casey Roberts as Launch Control Voice

### Additional Voices

* Daniel Booko
* Jen Cain
* Oscar Camacho
* David Chen
* Johnny Gidcomb
* Annie Gonzalez
* Maya Goodwin
* Danielle Hartnett
* Marabina Jaimes
* Masa Kanome
* Hideo Kimura
* Dina Morrone
* Dyana Ortelli
* Arthur Ortiz
* Chrystee Pharris
* Ben Pronsky
* Stan Sellers
* Shane Sweet
* Michael Woodley
* Vivian Yoon
* Ruth Zalduondo

## Production

On October 9, 2017, it was announced that development was underway on a film based on the animated short *Pigeon: Impossible* of 2009, with Will Smith and Tom Holland set to voice the lead characters.

In October 2018, new additions to the voice cast included Ben Mendelsohn, Karen Gillan, Rashida Jones, DJ Khaled and Masi Oka. In July 2019, Reba McEntire and Rachel Brosnahan joined the cast, and in September 2019, Carla Jimenez was added as well.

## Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 75% based on 114 reviews, and an average rating of 6.44/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A cheerfully undemanding animated adventure that's elevated by its voice cast, *Spies in Disguise* is funny, fast-paced, and family-friendly enough to satisfy."

## Trivia

* This is the first Blue Sky Studios film to have opening credits since *Rio*.
* This is the first and only Blue Sky Studios film to include the usage of a swear word (However, this was censored), with this happening at some stage when Lance & Walter escape the H.T.U.V agents after questioning Kimura.
* This is the first animated film from 20th Century Fox to be released after the Disney purchase.
	+ Additionally, this is the first (and only) Blue Sky Studios film to be released after the Disney purchase.
* This was the last animated film to be released under the 20th Century Fox name, to which would be renamed 20th Century Studios a month later.
* The film's release date has been changed several times. It was originally set to come out on January 18th, 2019, but was then pushed back to April 19th, then moved to September 13th, 2019. On May 10, the release got pushed back once more to Christmas Day 2019, to accommodate the release of Fox's *Ad Astra* which was moved to the September date.
* This movie does not feature "Twentieth Century Fox Animation Presents" and "A Blue Sky Studios Production" in neither the opening nor closing.
* This is Will Smith's first animated film role since DreamWorks Animation's 2004 feature *Shark Tale*.
* This is Olly Murs' first animated film role and his second animated role after previously voicing Spike in *101 Dalmatian Street*.
* This was the second film in 2019 to have a character played by Will Smith turn into a form that's colored blue. The first film was *Aladdin (2019)*.
	+ This was also the second film of 2019 to feature a character played by Tom Holland that visits Venice and fights a villain with drones. The first film being *Spider-Man: Far From Home*.
* This is the first 20th Century Fox (and Blue Sky Studios) film to use the 2019 MPA logo in the end credits.
* Walter's stuffed unicorn toy, Unitee, parodies Winnie the Pooh, Princess Celestia from *My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic* and Tenderheart Bear from *Care Bears*. Unitee can be found on Walter's childhood pajamas at the beginning of the movie and on a security blanket that gets launched towards the end.
* Walter's face in the sun during Lance's transformation to a pigeon is a reference to the pre-school series *Teletubbies*.
* *Scooby Doo* is mentioned three times in the dialogue by Ears, Marcy and Lance.
* The car falling from the bridge scene is a reference to *Finding Dory*.
* The song "*Close to You*" from *The Simpsons Movie* can be heard in the car falling down slow-motion scene.
	+ However, this is the Sally Stevens cover, rather than the original version by the Carpenters.

## Gallery

The ***Spies in Disguise Wiki*** has a collection of images and media related to ***Spies in Disguise***.
## Transcript

The transcript for ***Spies in Disguise*** is available **here**.
## Videos

Spies in Disguise Official Trailer HD Blue Sky StudiosSpies in Disguise Official Trailer 2 HD 20th Century FOXSpies in Disguise Official Trailer 3 HD 20th Century FOXSpies in Disguise “Physics Problem” Clip 20th Century FOXSpies in Disguise "Then There Were Two" Lyric Video 20th Century FOXSpies in Disguise Super Secret Trailer 20th Century FOXSpies in Disguise The Making of “Then There Were Two” 20th Century FOXSpies In Disguise Solo 20th Century FOXSpies in Disguise Meet Lance SterlingSpies in Disguise “Meet Walter” 20th Century FoxSpies in Disguise Meet Killian 20th Century FoxSpies in Disguise “It Worked” Clip 20th Century FoxSpies in Disguise “Freak of Nature” Lyric Video 20th Century FoxSpies in Disguise Jeff 20th Century FoxSpies in Disguise Walter’s Gadgets 20th Century FoxSpies in Disguise 12 Days of Spiesmas 20th Century FoxSpies in Disguise Embrace Your Weird 20th Century FoxSpies in Disguise Safe Gadgets 20th Century Fox
## References

1. ↑ Brueggemann, Tom (December 29, 2019). ‘Little Women’ Is the Top Box Office Newcomer; ‘Skywalker’ May Fall $100 Million Short of ‘Jedi’. *IndieWire*. Archived from the original on December 31, 2019. Retrieved on June 10, 2022.
2. ↑ "Spies in Disguise (2019)". *Box Office Mojo*. IMDb. Retrieved on June 10, 2022.
3. ↑ "Will Smith, Tom Holland to Star in Animated Movie ‘Spies in Disguise’ (EXCLUSIVE)". *Variety* (October 9, 2017). Retrieved on April 21, 2020.
4. ↑ "Will Smith and Tom Holland are ‘Spies in Disguise’". *Slashfilm* (October 11, 2017). Retrieved on April 21, 2020.
5. ↑ "Ben Mendelsohn, Karen Gillan, Rashida Jones, DJ Khaled and Masi Oka Join Voice Cast Of Fox Animation ‘Spies In Disguise’". *Deadline Hollywood* (October 29, 2018). Retrieved on April 21, 2020.
6. ↑ "Reba McEntire, Rachel Brosnahan Join Will Smith in 'Spies in Disguise' (Exclusive)". *The Hollywood Reporter* (July 23, 2019). Retrieved on April 21, 2020.
7. ↑ "Rep Sheet Roundup: CAA China Signs Matt William Knowles". *The Hollywood Reporter* (September 9, 2019). Retrieved on April 21, 2020.

## External Links

* Spies in Disguise on Wikipedia
* Spies in Disguise on IMDb
* Official Blue Sky Studios Webpage
* Official Fox Movies Webpage
* Spies in Disguise on Disney+
* Spies in Disguise (@SpiesinDisguise) on Instagram
* Spies in Disguise (@SpiesinDisguise) on Facebook
* Spies in Disguise (@SpiesinDisguise) on Twitter