Written by: Katherine Cañeba | @kcserinlee

I had been hoping to publish this post soon after having seen the movie, but life happened. So here I am, almost two years behind schedule. Still, better late than never!

After the seemingly endless wait (for me, at least) from the Christmas 2023 release of the movie Spy x Family CODE: White in Japan to its North American release in theaters on 20 April 2024, I leapt for the chance to watch it in my local SoCal theater.

I saw the movie in theaters twice on opening weekend in my city: first in IMAX on Saturday and again in digital on Sunday. For an exciting start to my movie-watching experience, the ushers at the theater door checking our tickets gave everyone watching the movie a Spy x Family postcard featuring our cutie pie Anya reaching for the Stella Stars. So, after having seen it twice, I ended up with two postcards in total, and I was twice as smitten!

Note that this movie is considered non-canon, so if a fan were to miss this movie, their understanding or enjoyment of the main anime storyline would not be affected. The movie also provides context for the different characters and how they fit into the family/story so if one had never seen the anime or read the manga and had gone into the movie blind, they still would have been able to follow along and appreciate it as a standalone experience. 

I do think that this beginner-friendly nature of the movie could have been advertised much better, because even hardcore fans like me assumed that we had to finish Season 2 of the anime before we would be ready to watch this movie. Some of my friends who were more casual fans didn’t watch this movie for that exact reason.

Non-canon stories are more accessible to audiences who may be previously unfamiliar with the source anime. However, it may disappoint viewers who figure out that the catching up they did pre-movie was optional extra credit rather than homework that needed to be done.

Once I realized that I knew where certain scenes in CODE: White were going because they were already remixed from similar scenes in the manga and anime, it did hurt my investment in the story a little. I wasn’t on the edge of my seat, but it was like being fed a comfort food whose taste I was already familiar with (and admittedly still tasted good). However, even tasting good, there is still a part of me that wants an even more significant reward for being a faithful enough fan to watch this movie: for movie events to at least live within the canon timeline (or perhaps also give major backstory or foreshadowing for the main story).  

I felt that they could have titled this movie CODE: Christmas instead of CODE: White because the movie is very Christmas-coded, from the obvious presence of snow in the country of Frigis to the “City Market” lit up in holiday lights and offering all the food, shopping, and activities one would expect to find at a Christmas Market in a big city in the real world. Mulled wine, carnival-esque games, and various rides like choo-choo trains and Ferris wheels are all featured in the City Market.

There was a lot to love about this movie. I loved the character designs/outfits, the change of environment, and the fact that Bond gets to go on this vacation with the Forgers and prove his worth in Operation Strix. Of course, the Forger Family has new, movie-exclusive outfits to adapt to the winter weather in style as well. Anya looked cute and spunky in a new winter coat with pom poms on strings, Loid sported a practical-looking red scarf and brown jacket, and Yor stayed warm while looking mature as usual, in yellow tights and a white coat. Conversely, the family dog Bond needed no outfit change, as a classic black bowtie never goes out of style.

I also enjoyed how the movie provided an opportunity for the characters to play around with several comedic situations. Such as marriage misunderstandings, while having a side adventure using their alter ego skills and conveniently not having it affect the main anime story. The Forgers do get into a high-stakes adventure to save the world as a family in this movie, and they conveniently don’t bother asking each other any prying questions of why so-and-so just happens to be there at just the right time to stop the bad guys. The characters in this series are great at sniffing out suspicious behavior in anyone other than the members of their own family (overprotective brother Yuri notwithstanding), and this movie is par for the course. Your mileage may vary with selective stupidity, but if you’re enough of a fan of the Forger Family setup to want to watch a movie about them, then this probably will not be a dealbreaker for you.

The most surprising aspect of the movie for me was that Loid managed to find an adversary worthy of his skills honed through his spy experiences. When I got to the part where he is actually bested in a food-tasting contest, I couldn’t help but feel my stomach drop. Just as the rest of the Forger Family probably did when their patriarch, who can do literally anything he sets his mind to, had actually lost to someone and failed at something. To my knowledge, we haven’t seen a similar situation happen in the main anime or manga storyline yet, where the rest of the Forger family witnesses Loid fail at something so important. So I found this situation in the movie to be an intriguing exploration of the limits of Loid’s abilities. Even a world-renowned superspy with superhuman intellect and skills to match is still only human.

Little kids tend to see their parents as superhumans who know everything and can do anything, and parents try to be that superhuman in their kids’ eyes for as long as possible to grant them a feeling of safety. In this humbling moment for Loid, Anya saw firsthand that her father didn’t quite know everything and couldn’t quite do everything. This is something that many children experience in some form as they start to grow up and see their parents as the flawed humans they always were. This lesson feels a little harsher since Anya, in particular, has the perspective of her father as both the perfect father and the perfect spy, which makes the moment of his failure hit doubly hard. Later on in the movie, Anya decides to take matters into her own hands to help the family’s mission, recognizing that even the most capable people like her father still need help sometimes. In the main series, too, Anya does whatever she can to help her parents in their respective missions—at least, when she is thinking big-picture enough to set her childish desires aside.

Still, Anya always comes through in the last act, contributing to saving the day both intentionally and unintentionally. She also looks and sounds—shoutout to the voice actors’ excellent work as always!—equal parts cute and goofy while doing it. Just like her parents, we the audience just can’t help but love her, no matter what she does!

As the plot progresses to its climactic battleground aboard a cargo jet carrying the final bosses for Loid and Yor, both parents use their “particular sets of skills” to take down their respective opponents in explosive fashion, save their daughter Anya, and save the world. I especially enjoyed how a certain gift from Loid to Yor earlier in the movie became a Chekhov’s gun for Yor to use to ultimately triumph against her final boss—through her own abilities, absolutely, but also with a little help from her doting husband.

Honestly, the only thing I would change about this movie is the aftermath (or lack thereof) of Anya’s Poop god hallucination. Despite this supposedly serving as a relief from the intense discomfort of holding one’s poop for too long, Anya never actually relieves herself in her transition back to reality from it, so the scene didn’t advance the story at all. I think that this detour into Anya’s imagination would have been more relevant to the story if it had been moved to after the scene when Anya finally stumbles upon an empty bathroom. She closes the door behind her, she meets the Poop god in all his insane glory, and she wipes her brow in relief as she flushes it all down.

As a side note, WIT Studio, which partnered with CloverWorks on this movie just like with the anime, had definitely referenced Attack on Titan (AOT) during Yor’s boss fight during a high point near the end (WIT Studio’s Kyōji Asano was the Chief Animation Director for much of AOT as well as for all of CODE: White.) As a massive AOT fan who has rewatched it so many times, I can say with absolute confidence that Yor’s mid-air spin with an axe in her hands was a clear nod to the AOT action scenes of old. Though it didn’t make sense in terms of physics in CODE: White, it was still a fun, exciting easter egg for those who noticed!

For me, the biggest emotional payoff of this movie is one of the last scenes before the credits roll: Loid thinks to himself that Operation Strix is saved, Anya reads his mind and feels reassured that her place in the Forger Family is still secure, and as Loid, Yor, and Anya make their way back home together, Anya gets to be swung by her arms between her parents. The Forger Family never does this in the anime or manga so far, but they do in this movie. I view it as a tender moment that exemplifies familial love between parents and their child, and one that also celebrates a child’s natural playfulness. I think it is a truly fitting end to this movie: a comfort food full of funny hijinks and dangerous thrills that leave the heroes unscathed by the end—and ultimately strengthen their bonds with each other.

I also loved the soundtrack and felt that the new music added a fresh take on some familiar flashback scenes and otherwise familiar beats from the anime. The ending songs also perfectly captured the heartwarming magic of the holidays, and they paired well with the whimsical animations of Anya getting into various shenanigans during the ending credits scroll. In keeping with the analogy of this movie as a comfort food, the last song that plays is called “SOULSOUP” by Official HIGE DANdism, the band that also did the anime’s Season 1 opening song. (Check out the lyrics and English translation to “SOUPSOUP” here.) I think that the lyrics were strongly fitting with the theme of the movie: keeping a family together can be an epic battle, but the power of love makes it worth the struggle. So, if you had been watching the movie in Japan when it was originally showing in theaters on Christmas, you’d definitely feel that Christmas spirit! No matter what time of year you go on this adventure, I am confident that you will find it worthwhile!

If you’re looking for a fan review podcast of the movie, I highly recommend the Operation Strix Podcast. They also do episode recaps of the anime, as well as manga chapter recaps. One of the podcast members is a professional animator who can break down the animation work done in specific scenes, and all the members contribute thoughtful insights on the character growth and story progression of the series!

If you are interested in other information about the movie, a special book was released only in Japan called the Spy x Family CODE: White Film Files. I was super lucky to be able to find copies of this book on sale in Akihabara when I went to Japan this past June, and it has since made its way for sale at various places online. Its contents range from concept sketches of the main and supporting characters, interviews of mangaka Tatsuya Endo, and even an eight-page manga chapter of Anya’s zany recounting of her vacation in Frigis to Loid’s trusty informant Franky. The whole book even has furigana (pronunciation guide notations in hiragana/syllabic letters next to every kanji/Chinese character), which makes it more accessible to Japanese language learners and young Japanese readers. The whole book is quite thin, at only 80 pages long, so don’t fret if you’re not able to get your hands on a copy. The concept art can be found in color in the official art book, which is more accessible to international fans.

In the time since the movie’s release, there have been a multitude of accompanying books and magazine covers, some of which I’ve included in pictures below. For a more complete compendium of all the collaborations, merch, books, and magazines related to the movie, the Spy x Family Wiki has a CODE: White Gallery, too!

There were also several anime-focused Japanese magazines that featured the movie, several of which I bought as well:

With that said, I absolutely recommend this movie to pretty much everybody, including any Spy x Family fan, any anime fan in general, and honestly anybody who can find lighthearted fun in a standalone holiday story.

You can watch Spy x Family CODE: White on Crunchyroll here.

Are you planning on starting an annual CODE: White rewatch every holiday season like I am? Let us know about your own CODE: White thoughts and memories (and maybe even merch hauls)!

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Developmental and copy editing by: Peggy Sue Wood | @pswediting