Spy x Family Code: White is a movie set within the television series, Spy x Family. The series follows master spy Twilight, who must disguise himself as the psychiatrist Loid Forger and build a mock family in order to investigate political leader Donovan Desmond. However, his mock family actually have unique traits of their own. His wife, Yor, is actually known as the Thorn Princess, a deadly assassin feared by the greatest names in the underworld and their adopted orphan daughter, Anya, also just so happens to have telepathic abilities. Based off that premise alone, you can see this spy comedy doesn’t take itself nearly as seriously as James Bond or even Mission: Impossible. The premise is reminiscent of the newly acclaimed series Mr and Mrs Smith that debuted on Amazon Prime this year but this story thrives even more in the minute and insignificant plot points.
The unique action of the series is on full display here as the animation utilizes the creative liberties that are expected with an anime and which fit the almost absurd plot of the film. The entire plot revolves around Loid needing Anya to win a cooking competition at her private school in order to impress the principal, who dictates Loid’s replacement. The family then travels to the origin place of the principal’s favorite meal in order to perfect it, causing a chain reaction that puts Loid’s side quest at the center of a conflict that may put world peace at risk.
The fact that the plot hinges on its protagonist making a great meal already gives the show a tone more like that of a sitcom than a spy thriller but it thrives in that. There is a lot of detail and interesting situations baked into Loid’s journey to find all the ingredients to make the meal. There’s a couple of funny coincidences along the way that heighten the drama, such as Anya accidentally eating a chocolate which contained information that may cause a world war. (No biggie.)
Other scenes also get caught up in such antics as who can identify what ingredients are in a dessert between Loid and a Military General, Anya and Loid exposing a man who is running a rigged carnival game and Loid trying to find the ingredients for his dish by using his world class spy skills to break into secrets vaults of liquor. Oh, and Yor thinks Loid is cheating on her because of a stranger encounter that he has with a woman (but that woman turns out to be a fellow spy). The film takes it time with these situations, making them the crux of the drama which makes this a light and enjoyable show despite the looming threat to world peace that the story tries to keep prominent in the plot.
The animation is very well done for a TV movie. It uses creative camera shots that would be a burden in live action and captures them quite elegantly. The overall writing of the screenplay is very scattered and focuses on the anime tropes. While there are a couple of ongoing threads like Loid’s goal to make a dish that will allow him to keep his job the film takes time in its small and less impactful situations such as Anya’ enjoyment of dessert and their hotel room. Plus, they have a cute dog named Bond, who is always a funny cutaway. Bond can also see the future. Again very silly, and very much a fantasy film put in a spy comedy. Even so, it doesn’t pretend to be anything different than that. It’s an enjoyable comedy that is a relaxing watch but also one you can get invested in as you journey with these likeable and unique characters.
Spy x Family Code: White is available in theatres on Thursday, April 18th, 2024.
