The Angry Birds Movie 3 is, surprisingly, a movie about parenting, following a long line of popular sequels that have made this same shocking pivot. The latest trailer for Angry Birds 3 has turned Red into a dad, and the marketing for the movie suggests that this next story will be largely about childrearing, with Bomb and Chuck helping out.
Especially for a video game movie sequel, this is a surprising choice. While the Angry Birds video games are not exactly rife with story potential, the first two films in the franchise had a more generic setup, with the first chronicling the tension between the birds and the pigs, and the second seeing the two enemy factions teaming up.
Granted, this path makes some narrative sense. Streaming hit The Angry Birds Movie 2 saw a relationship develop between Red and Chuck’s sister, Silver, voiced by Rachel Bloom. Bringing the story far enough into the future to tell a tale of parenthood is surprising for the family film, but it also follows a successful precedent in movie franchises.
There have actually been a shocking number of series that have made this same pivot. In action, comedy, animation, and more, various follow-up chapters have iterated on the happily-ever-after that is implied in a prior film, and naturally move into another phase of life. This next-generation idea of storytelling is a successful trope, as shown in these fantastic films.
Little Fockers
Little Fockers had perhaps one of the most natural evolutions on this list. Meet the Parents saw Ben Stiller’s Greg Focker meeting his in-laws, and the sequel brought in his own parents, played by Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand. Adding a new generation was the next logical choice.
Still, Little Fockers changed the dynamics of the larger story in a fresh way. Full of slapstick comedy and great chemistry between Stiller and Robert De Niro, this chapter of the franchise, while the weakest so far, is still a strong comedy.
With the trailer for Focker-In-Law now out, it is clear that this franchise is continuing to grow and evolve, all the way into a new generation of adults. Hopefully, the new chapter can live up to the quality of the rest of this hilarious franchise.
The Fate Of The Furious
While not as natural an evolution as the Meet the Parents series, bringing children into Fast & Furious also made a great deal of sense. Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto spoke throughout the series about a commitment to family, and that takes an even greater turn when it is revealed that he has a son in The Fate of the Furious.
Integrating aspects of parenthood in its own original way, which included a powerful and exciting scene where Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw protects the child during an inventive shoot-out scene, was fantastic. In addition, Dom’s son being named Brian even contends with the real-world loss of Paul Walker.
The Fate of the Furious is a mind-blowing and exciting chapter in the franchise, delivering on the thrills and explosive action that the series has done best. Adding in a new generation that continues to be explored in later installments makes it even better.
Chicken Run: Dawn Of The Nugget
Chicken Run was released in 2000, and its sequel did not come out until 23 years later. As a result, it made sense that Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget integrated elements of a new generation by making Rocky and Ginger, the leads of the first film, into parents.
The sequel saw the chickens living in a sanctuary, attempting to keep their daughter, Molly, safe. However, as tends to be the case with youth, curiosity gets the better of Molly, which leads her back to the mainland to see what she has been missing.
A smart sequel, with a natural evolution into a story about parenthood, Dawn of the Nugget is a satisfying follow-up, and one of the best stop motion movies in recent years.
Ice Age: Continental Drift
Another animated sequel, Ice Age: Continental Drift, is the fourth installment in Fox’s animated series and brings in a new character named Peaches, voiced by Keke Palmer.
Following the end of Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Manny and Elle had given birth to a child, and it was only natural to continue the series with this new element of parenthood baked into the premise. The family dynamics are an important part of this sequel, with complex relationships shared between the three mammoths.
Peaches has grown up over the course of the sequels, and even takes on a mate of her own in Ice Age: Collision Course. As a result it is possible that the upcoming Ice Age: Boiling Point or a subsequent sequel could even see one more new generation added to the mix.
Shrek Forever After
Shrek is another franchise that took a distinct turn into stories about parenthood. Shrek the Third saw Shrek and Fiona contending with an impending pregnancy, but Shrek Forever After, the most recent chapter in the series, saw Shrek contending with raising his babies, and struggling significantly.
Raising a family is hard work, and Shrek feels defeated by it. He yearns for simpler times, which leads to a regrettable wish that brings him to an alternate reality where he never became a celebrity or father.
All of this, of course, is undone by the story’s end, which will lead into next year’s Shrek 5. Seeing how Shrek has evolved as both a character and a father in the intervening years is one of the most compelling prospects of the next film.
The Mummy Returns
1999’s The Mummy is a fantastic adventure film, and the sequel, 2001’s The Mummy Returns, adds an interesting twist by giving Evelyn and Rick a child. Despite only two years between the release of each film, seven years had passed in the world, and the characters had grown significantly.
Adding in Alex was a great way to move this plot, concerning the Scorpion King, forward. In the film, Alex gets saddled with the Bracelet of Anubis, and it is up to his parents to save him, serving as a great propulsive component of the action.
Alex has grown up in the sequels to The Mummy, but adding in this element of parenthood to the series has been tremendously successful. With The Mummy 4 set for 2027, it will be interesting to see how their family dynamic has evolved.
Avatar: The Way Of Water
The sequel to James Cameron’s Avatar moved significantly into the future, giving Jake and Neytiri a family of their own. With kids they birthed and kids they adopted, the Sully clan contends with some extremely difficult evolutions throughout Avatar: The Way of Water.
In addition to the loss of Neteyam, Kiri’s struggles with her identity, and Lo’ak’s inability to live up to his father’s wishes, The Way of Water challenges ideas about family with Spider. Spider’s relationship to the recombinant version of his father, Quaritch, shows the difficulties of contending with a darker legacy and lineage.
The film even examines species differences, with Neytiri beginning to turn on Spider simply for his humanity. This Pandora sequel did a fantastic job in evolving its story, adding elements of parenthood in impactful, thoughtful, and powerful ways.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
One of the greatest sci-fi sequels of all time, Terminator 2: Judgment Day didn’t have much of a choice but to make Sarah Connor a mother. The first film contended with the importance of her pregnancy, and the second naturally saw John Connor playing a major role, including a strained relationship with his mother.
Judgement Day has an unusual focus on parenting, with Sarah fulfilling the role at times, and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-1000 being a father figure at others. These ideas only strengthened the narrative, allowing Terminator 2 to be remembered even more fondly than its predecessor.
It remains to be seen how well The Angry Birds Movie 3 will be received when it is released later this year, but there is reason to believe it will be great. Pivoting to parenthood in sequels has been used to great success through the years, allowing for some of the best follow-up movies ever made.
- Release Date
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December 23, 2026
- Director
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John Rice
- Writers
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Thurop Van Orman, Vadim Bazhanov
