The Angry Birds Movie

Even if it was a good idea to turn a video-game app into a film, there’s a high probability that the source material would have faded from the the pop-culture landscape before the movie could be made.

Cue The Angry Birds Movie, a film for the iPhone 6 crowd that feels so iPhone 5. While it’s a decent little animated flick in some respects, the game is simply not meant for translation into this medium (not that it’s ever stopped anyone before).

The angriest of all the birds, of course, is Red (voiced by Jason Sudeikis), a cardinal whose relentless cynicism — and massively intimidating eyebrows — has made him an outcast on the island he shares with other flightless birds.

Other story basics likewise are lifted from the game. Red’s chance at reconciliation with his winged neighbors comes when some green pigs invade the island, and their leader (Bill Hader) is obviously hiding his sinister plan and his motives. So Red assembles a team including a canary (Josh Gad) and a blackbird (Danny McBride) to stop the pigs and earn back the respect of his peers.

Aimed primarily at small children with short attention spans, the film suffers from some familiar pitfalls, cramming every frame with CGI mayhem to distract from a generic underdog storyline that remains grounded.

That target demographic might enjoy some of the low-brow slapstick animal antics — one extended gag features a urinating bald eagle — although it’s not clever enough to engage their accompanying adults.

As directed by veteran animators Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly, the result is technically proficient but ultimately more obnoxious than endearing. The simplistic screenplay features some amusing sardonic quips, but most of the sight gags and one-liners never take flight. “This is a huge waste of my time,” Red grumbles at one point.

Indeed, the misanthropic protagonist is more compelling than the film around him, such as the revolving door of plump and mischievous characters Red encounters on his road to redemption. The material is given a boost by the voice cast, which includes Sean Penn, Peter Dinklage and Keegan-Michael Key. However, there’s a curious lack of female characters.

Among viewers, The Angry Birds Movie is likely to incite more indifference than outright anger. It’s hardly anything about which to raise your eyebrows.

Rated PG, 97 minutes.