SPY x FAMILY CODE: WHITE

The popular Japanese anime SPY x FAMILY comes out with its first theatrical release in CODE: WHITE, which sees the fraudulent Forger family as they individually try to maintain world peace while on a vacation. The movie is both a continuation of the anime series and its own individual adventures. The world of the spy family is supposed to be a parallel to Europe during the Cold War, where the countries of Ostania and Westalis, fictionalized versions of East and West Germany, are fighting a war of espionage.
The story in SPY x FAMILY is that each member of the family is hiding a secret that requires the family for some reason or another. The father, Loid Forger, is in fact a spy on a mission to preserve world peace between two neighboring countries. Loid pretends to be a mild-mannered psychiatrist. The mother, Yor, is a quiet, quirky, sweet civil servant who moonlights as an assassin. The adopted daughter, Anya, is a telepath who knows everyone’s secrets and tries to help her father’s missions without him, knowing. The dog, Bond, is also a product of experiments with the power to see into the future. Everyone in the family keeps secrets from each other.
In SPY x FAMILY CODE: WHITE, Anya is given an opportunity to earn one of eight awards for merit in her school, where she must make a dessert that will be judged by the school’s principal. When Anya tells her spy father this, he happens to know that the principal’s favorite dessert is a rare dish called merimeri, which seems to be a combination of a meringue and tort, that comes from the Frigis region. So, the Forger family decides to take a trip to Frigis to learn how to make the legendary dessert.
On the way, three things occur. First, Loid is told his mission, Operation: Strix, is being given to another incompetent agent, which gets Loid worried about peace. Meanwhile, Yor witnesses Loid helping a fellow female agent and thinks he’s cheating on her, even though their own marriage is fake. Anya, however, reads the dog’s mind and goes snooping through people’s things looking for treasure. She finds a rare chocolate truffle, which also has important information hidden in it, and eats it. Anya, however, is seen by two Ostanian soldiers, who end up following her around Frigis.
When the family arrives in Frigis, they make their way to the restaurant where the merimeri is. However, before they can have some, the last piece is stolen by Colonel Snider, a cruel and brilliant man with an incredible palate. After Loid loses a taste contest to try to get the merimeri piece, the family goes to get all the ingredients so they can make their own.
While there, Yor talks to Loid about his supposed infidelity, but Loid puts her mind at ease. However, despite looking all over, they are unable to find cherry liqueur. While looking for it, Anya gets kidnapped by villain’s men to try and get the microfilm from the truffle she ate.
Anya’s parents go after her kidnappers. The Colonel tries to take off in a war-dirigible with a unique human cyborg weapon called Type: F. However, Loid and Yor manage to get aboard the ship. Loid takes on the Colonel while Yor takes on the deadly cyborg to save their daughter.
CODE: WHITE is an adorable addition to the Japanese TV series. The animation style is fun, a well-drawn combination of Japanese and western cartoons. The filmmakers also experiment with unique and cool new styles of art for certain action sequences, which add to the drama. The story itself has a simple plot, but it’s weird and endearing enough to keep viewers engaged.
SPY x FAMILY CODE: WHITE has a strong moral worldview. The family always works together to get through life’s challenges. Also, Loid says he took his marriage vows to Yor very seriously, despite the family being fake, and is loyal to her. Finally, Loid and Yor also want to encourage good values in their adopted daughter, Anya.
However, CODE: WHITE has lots of action violence because of the parents’ dangerous jobs. Also, because this is a spy movie, many characters lie and keep secrets. Finally, the movie has brief foul language, two scenes of drunkenness, non-Christian psychic abilities, and a scene where the male spy convincingly disguises himself as a woman and flirts with a married couple to complete a mission.
Overall, SPY x FAMILY CODE: WHITE is a hilarious animated action comedy, with some adorable moments, but MOVIEGUDIE® advises caution for older children.