Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the movie.
Sony Pictures' new animated movie "Sausage Party" is honestly a riot. As I sat through the hour and a half film, I found myself laughing to the point of tears on multiple occasions. The movie was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg who are also responsible for "Superbad" and "Pineapple Express." In the midsts of all the food puns and crude jokes, towards the end of the film I noticed that there is a greater theme running through the movie; bigger than the idea of food being alive. The main message of "Sausage Party" is about humanity. It's about respecting (not just tolerating) the beliefs of others in addition to putting differences aside, breaking down boundaries and being stronger when united versus divided. I'll go further into detail about how this message becomes apparent in the movie a little later.
The story follows the lives of various food items throughout the grocery store as it nears the Fourth of July, a major grocery shopping weekend. They are all under the impression that when they are selected by the "gods" (also known as us humans), they will be off to a life of luxury and love. Each morning, they start the day with a song about being taken into "The Great Beyond" (outside the grocery store) by the gods. The beginning of plot chronicles the adventures of a package of hot dogs and buns as they eagerly await to be chosen.
However, once selected, they learn the truth about what really happens when they leave the grocery store from a jar of honey mustard who has been purchased and returned to the store. Honey Mustard informs all the food items in the cart that contrary to what they believe, they gods don't love them...they EAT them. Honey Mustard (who has clearly been battling some major demons since his trip to and from The Great Beyond) then attempts to jump to his death. This prompts one of the hot dogs, appropriately named Frank (Seth Rogen), and his "Glamor Bun" girlfriend, Brenda (Kristen Wiig), to leave their packaging in an attempt to save Honey Mustard who ultimately falls and shatters on the grocery store floor. Now out of their packaging and a long way from the aisle they both know to be home, Brenda and Frank have no choice but to venture through the grocery store to find their way back.
During their journey across the perilous supermarket aisles, Brenda and Frank meet a sexually ambiguous taco named Teresa (Salma Hayek), an obviously Jewish bagel named Sammy (Edward Norton Jr.) and Lavash, an argumentative middle eastern flat bread (David Krumholtz.) As these characters become painfully aware of what exactly happens in The Great Beyond, Frank attempts to show the entire grocery store, which doesn't go over well. Eventually, the edibles have no choice but to work together to attack the humans shopping in the store as a means of saving their own lives.
This is where the life lesson comes into play. Yes, this movie features an array of religious, social and racial stereotypes, however, it also emphasizes the importances of respecting varying beliefs. When Frank first attempts to warn the other edibles about what really happens in The Great Beyond, they chose not to heed his warning because he is essentially bashing everything they've ever believed in. Once he figures out how to voice his opinion in a respectful manner, his fellow edibles are much more receptive.
The movie also promotes the idea of putting aside differences to work together because we're stronger when we are united instead of divided. Anyone else picking up a reference to the Presidential election here? I sure am. This concept of unity is apparent in one of the movie's final scenes when the food items work together to take down the humans — and by "take down," I mean shoot them up with bath salts. Yes...bath salts. Overall, the movie delivers laugh after laugh but definitely promotes these takeaway points above all. If you haven't seen "Sausage Party" yet, I definitely suggest seeing it.
