I was one of the many people who absolutely fell in love with the Forger family's silly, occasionally action-packed domesticity last year through the highly popular anime adaptation of Spy x Family. The unique personalities, well-meaning hijinks, and downright adorable familial interactions drew me in, and I quickly became invested in the pendulous Operation Strix. So, the theatrical release of a full-length film teasing a family mission with the whole operation on the line was certainly a Code White event for me!
Spy x Family Code: White Revisits Operation Strix
(Spy x Family Code White Spoilers Ahead)
The movie starts off with a look into the current whereabouts and regular activities of the Forger family. Yor completes an assassination in her characteristically polite way with an impressively artful display. Loid pulls off a honeypot recon at an upscale masquerade party, completing the mission with the relaxed ease expected of the legendary agent Twilight. And Anya is being her adorable self in class – AKA bumbling through the posh and prim (one could even say “Elegant!”) practices at Eden Academy. The opening sequence provides a quick character and story refresher for the audience, bringing everyone up to speed even if you went into the theater having only a rudimentary familiarity with the series. I loved how, with just a few moments, our main characters’ personalities were also shown, like juxtaposing the badassery of Yor’s technique with her endearing anxious mumbling immediately after. It also serves to set the scene with the initial conflicts for our trio, all intertwining into the larger narrative conflict: the precarious state of the Forger family. Just as the movie’s tagline proclaims, Operation Strix is in danger!
After debriefing from the previous mission at HQ, Loid gets the news that his primary assignment will be transferred to another agent, relieving himself of the stalemate and pretense of a family. Despite his initial reluctance towards the mission, Loid seems genuinely upset at the news, though it could be the ego-bruising of having a mission stolen from under him due to cronyism. His tangible progress – or lack thereof – is a bargaining chip to stay on, and the brilliant spy’s brain is already spinning with plans on how to prove Operation Strix is progressing just fine.
Wrong Place, Wrong Time
Outside the building, Loid runs into the (ever-smitten) Fiona and helps the woman with her blown-off hat, the benign – but ill-timed – interaction being witnessed by Yor while taking a break with her coworkers on the roof of their office building. My incredulous amusement at her hawk-eyed sight aside, this incident is ill-timed for more reasons than just the wrong place and wrong time; Yor’s gossipy coworkers’ latest topic is about cheating husbands and all the signs to spot them. And in typical Yor fashion, she quickly spirals into imagining worst case scenarios regarding her relationship with Loid – a trait amusingly shared with her daughter.
Speaking of Anya, the tiny telepath is facing a conflict of her own: a surprise baking class assignment with a Stella on the line. Gaining another merit point is the best way to boost the progress of the mission, with both Anya and Loid (as always lingering close by to listen in) resolving to give their all to this dessert challenge in the name of Operation Strix. With Loid conveniently “remembering” the Principal’s favorite dessert, the trio decides to take a Forger family vacation to taste and learn the authentic regional version distinct to his hometown in a gorgeously colored sequence. The series’ muted pastels invoke warm and soft energy, complimenting shots like the scenic train ride and rich landscape backdrops beautifully.
While one of the initial conflicts – and the overarching conflict of the series – hinges on communication-resistant misunderstandings (seriously, guys literally just talk, please), it doesn’t feel too burdensome for the viewer. One of my favorite things about Spy x Family is how they balance misunderstanding-driven conflicts with endearingly amusing hijinks. It would be so easy for the writers to be a bit more heavy-handed with Yor’s insecurities, hiking up the drama aspect by repeating “misheard/mis-seen” scenarios like the one at the beginning of the movie. I personally hate when stories go this route though, and Spy x Family remains on the “lighthearted hijinks” side of things, which is at the heart of the series’ appeal.
Truffle Trouble
At the core of the movie’s conflict is an ordinary-looking little chocolate. Smuggled inside the chocolate, though, was a microfilm that contained information that could threaten national security. Luckily, instead of falling into the wrong hands, the microfilm was sitting safely (?) in Anya’s stomach. Unluckily, those wrong hands belonged to the Colonel, an arrogant and tyrannical military officer unafraid to weaponize his authority to get whatever he wanted. He is also a character original to this movie; we meet him when he snatches the very last of the dessert the Forger family had planned this trip around. With the restaurant out of ingredients, it seems all is lost. Still, a determined Loid convinces the chef to let them retrieve all the necessary ingredients in exchange for the dessert’s preparation. (Though this just made me wonder why he couldn’t give them the special regional recipe but gave them an ingredients list… like, isn’t that already halfway there?) Operation Cake Boss was back on – for a few hours at least, before it turns into Operation Save Anya once the Colonel snatches her up.
Though his initial plan was to wait for Anya to “pass” the microfilm, the girl’s stubborn endurance and the aircraft destruction caused by a stowed away Yor (or rather the idiot whose method of dealing with her being “Hey, what if we tried the nuclear option?”) has him planning to gut the young girl instead. But of course, Loid takes him out like the machine he is, Agent Best Father beating out Agent Twilight for the coldest spy. Not to be outdone, Yor has her own showdown against a Kroger-brand Winter Soldier in an absolutely beautifully choreographed scene that had my 12-year-old cousin almost vibrating in the seat from pure hype.
Spy x Family Code: White
The animation throughout the entire film is gorgeous, and the series’ distinctive colors look even better on the big screen. There were a few humorous moments of not-so-great CGI – mainly That Plane – but overall, the quality was thoroughly enjoyable. I liked how each of the characters' conflicts intertwined together, also reflecting each integral role in the mission. The weighted, unspoken moment between Anya and Loid after the rescue stood out to me as well.
Throughout the main series and movie, we see Anya (humorously) expecting the worst-case scenario every time she considers sharing information she “shouldn’t know,” her ESP causing her to be shunned and rejected. Yet the moment she had been building up passes in a weighted silence and a soft smile from Loid, the telltale twinkling signifying Anya’s mind reading the only clue the audience has to the pair’s unspoken conversation. Similarly, Yor and Loid’s flimsy excuses for their respective suspiciously convenient mission feats are met with an exchange of glances and unreadable smiles. And though the moment between the Forgers was silent, I certainly was not and spent the entire end credits sequence ranting to my younger cousin over my (game) theory that they know! They all know! And they all know each other know!
Speaking of my cousin, I’ll wrap up this review with a mini review from a newbie anime fan! Her words below:
I think that the Spy x Family movie was entertaining and funny. This being my first time watching an anime movie, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The clear, crisp animation was especially satisfying in scenes with more action. I liked seeing it through the eyes of a young child. It made the storyline more whimsical and enjoyable. I also liked how the characters exaggerated emotions made the movie even more appealing. It was still a very touching movie in that even though the main characters are all part of a fake family, they clearly have developed a connection with each other.
Crisp animation, childish whimsy, well-paced action, and character relationships you can’t help getting invested in sounds more than enough reason to see Spy x Family: Code White to me!
