Limited in novelty and immature in ideology, Sausage Party quickly wears out its ability to shock, proving that the Seth Rogen/Evan Goldberg approach to entertainment is all bluster and little substance.

You can visualise the scene: a stoned Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg scouring through supermarket aisles for munchie savouring snacks only for one to chime “Hey man, what if all of these foods were actually alive and they could talk, and have sex, and do drugs, and don’t believe in God and stuff…”

10 years and $20 million later and a movie is born, with Sausage Party an animated adventure that boasts the visual prowess of the best mainstream releases in the medium, yet the storytelling sensibility of a stoner nodding furiously mid toke at the Zeitgeist documentary playing on the TV.

“Dude, it’s a film about a talking wiener” you might say. Sure, its plot follows the trials and adventures of hot dog sausage Frank (Rogen), who along with the rest of the products in his local supermarket, eagerly awaits being chosen by the “Gods” (human customers) to be taken to the ‘’Great Beyond” (an allegory for Heaven) where eternal paradise awaits…or in Frank’s case, he can finally slide into fresh and voluptuous hot dog bun Brenda (Krsiten Wiig). Yet when the Great Beyond is exposed to be nothing more than a massacre waiting to happen, Frank takes it upon himself to warn his fellow supermarket products of the Divine sham thrust upon them.

Thus continues the Rogen/Goldberg mantra of “Drugs are good, God is bad” repeated throughout their collaborations to the point of boorish annoyance, save for the fact that there preach is mind bogglingly adolescent in quality and spirit.  Approaches towards taboo topics such as racism, sexuality and the Israel / Palestine conflict have some traction, yet are just as swiftly slapped down due to the complete lack of depth or credibility that the filmmakers of Sausage Party simply cannot conjure.

Directed by animation veterans Greg Tiernan (known for his work on Thomas the Tank Engine) and Conrad Vernon (Shrek 2), Sausage Party does boast an impressive visual pedigree with character design especially good. Voice work is also well done as a cast of talented actors do talented things, with special mention to Edward Norton and his Woody Allen impression in the voicing of an anxious donut. Other pop culture riffs are thrown but rarely stick, yet those that do hit their mark with some gusto.

A popular line touted by Rogen and co. in the promotion of the film is that Sausage Party is Pixar for adults. Let’s hold the mustard here: where the best of Pixar is able to meld visuals, emotion, and address elements of the human condition to make for modern day parables, all Sausage Party can boast is that it features an all-out sex-orgy of the food and condiments kind. With that as a high cue, any supposed credibility or entertainment value is lost in a cloud of bong smoke.