Being a huge Seth Rogen fan, I was pretty worried walking into the cinema to see Sausage Party. I wasn’t sure if it would meet my expectations, and I had no idea how Rogen’s crude humour and light Pixar-like animation were going to merge and collaborate.
Although I knew that walking into the cinema this film was not the usual animation you’d take your family to go see, some part of me still expected the usual behaviour and expectations of a normal PG-rated animation. Why? I’m not entirely sure, maybe because the trailer didn’t properly allude to how raw the film’s humour was actually going to be, or maybe because I’ve become so accustomed to what direction animated films usually take, that I wasn’t really ready to see a cartoon sausage swear, talk about religion, smoke weed, have a murderous streak and crave sex like it was the norm. Or, perhaps it was because of that upbeat, misleading opening song which greeted audiences and made us think halfway through it that he-wasn’t-really-going-to-say-what-he-said-and-oh-look-he-actually-said-it-and-omg-what-are-those-buns-doing-can-you-even-say-that-on-screen?
If we allow the exaggerated racial stereotypes, jaw dropping plot twists that make you cower and cackle, and the clear metaphor of the great beyond being a deceitful heaven get in the way of watching the film as if we were watching a usual Rogen picture, we won’t value it for what it is. That being, a groundbreaking rebellious take on the usual lighthearted animated films which have become so habitual and familiar to audiences.
Rogen literally reboots the animated genre, remaining true to what makes his stoner comedies so great and so loved by audiences, even after his characters turn into cleverly exaggerated caricatures. Supported by a massive list of talented actors, and a clever take on the expression food porn, Sausage Party not only surprises, but had the entire audience in my theatre crying from laughter throughout. The film is the story of how food in a local supermarket finally grasp the grim truth to what awaits them after they leave their aisles, and how they plan to take the fate of their expiry into their own hands.
What did surprise me more than anything was the religion talk which underpinned a lot of the film, however, thankfully, it wasn’t too preachy. There was a perfect balance between debates and issues regarding faith and how the clear push of unity and messages to ‘love thy neighbour’ were handled. Although it doesn’t offer us any newly discovered solutions on how to deal with the differences of belief and who evidently is the ‘right’ God, it does urge audiences to leave their positions at the door and enjoy the absurdity that is cartoon perishables prevailing over humans.
To enjoy Sausage Party for all the magic that it is, try not to be easily offended and most importantly, make sure you buy plenty of snacks before hand – because watching food talk for an hour and a half empty handed is nothing other than self inflicted torture.
Fun Fact:
The red band trailer for this movie was accidentally shown in a screening of Finding Dory (2016) at Brenden Concord cinemas in Concord, California, horrifying young audiences.
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