Movie Review: ‘Migration’ Blu-ray

Tweet

Review by James Lindorf

While they may not reach Pixar’s critical acclaim, there is no doubt that Illumination knows how to please audiences and bring in truckloads of dollars. The Despicable Me franchise is averaging $900 million every time a new movie gets released, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” brought in nearly $1.4 Billion on its own, and that’s on top of the popular “Sing” and “The Secret Life of Pets” comedies. Illumination is heading south this holiday season just one day after the official start of winter in North America with their latest film, “Migration.” Audiences can fly into theaters for this feathered family vacation on December 22nd.

From an outsider’s perspective, the Mallard family is in a bit of a rut, but nice and predictable is how Dad Mack (Kumail Nanjiani, The Big Sick) likes it. While he is content to paddle his days away around their New England pond, mom Pam (Elizabeth Banks, The Hunger Games) is eager to give her kids the adventure she never had at their age. When a migrating duck family visits the pond, they capture the imaginations of Pam, teen son Dax (Caspar Jennings), and duckling daughter Gwen (Tresi Gazal) with tales of unbelievable sights. Feeling guilty after putting his webbed foot down and afraid of ending up like his adventure-averse and very single Uncle Dan (Danny DeVito), Mack gives into his family’s desire to embark on a family trip to Jamaica. Like most family vacations, lousy luck and overconfidence in your sense of direction quickly lead to things spiraling out of control. Banding together, the Mallard family will face danger head-on and make new friends. The rest of the cast includes Awkwafina (Quiz Lady), Carol Kane (The Princess Bride), Keegan-Michael Key (The Super Mario Bros. Movie), and David Mitchell (Peep Show) as the characters they meet along the way.

“Migration” was directed by French filmmaker Benjamin Renner, whose two previous animated “Ernest & Celestine” and “The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales” movies earned 98 and 97% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and the former received an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Film. With that resume, it was only a matter of time before a major studio brought him in to head up a project. Renner worked with a screenplay from the Emmy-winning creator of “The White Lotus” and the screenwriter of “School of Rock,” Mike White. Looking at their history, they seem like the perfect duo to bring a great family film to theaters. Unfortunately, they never soar to the heights of “Despicable Me” but offers the chance at another solid franchise like “Sing” assuming it performs well at the box office.

“Migration” offers everything you want in a family movie. It has humor, heart, action, and a sequence that could be scary for the youngest audience members. It is a smooth flight from beginning to end with no turbulence or glaring faults. On the flip side, there are no peaks or moments that make you want to cheer or cry. White can write fantastic stories for adults and families, but the script for “Migration” feels a bit phoned in. Everything happens when and how you would expect it to, leaving it up to Renner and the cast to provide the charm to make the movie successful.

The cast is a mixed bag, not because of the performances given but because of the cast that was put together. I spent way too much time trying to place Danny DeVito’s, and it can be frustrating when a famous person isn’t doing a voice, and you can’t recognize them. Also, in the beginning, the fact that Mack is both the risk-averse one and the only one with an accent seems to isolate him from the rest of the family just a little more than White probably intended. However, by the end, the cast’s charm and performances, guided by Renner, all gelled into something lovable, except maybe for Awkwafina. I have enjoyed her in multiple projects, but she was hired to give her stereotypical performance in this film. She is talented and should have been allowed more range in her performance; it would only have improved the movie.

Also, providing lift to the screenplay is the excellent work of the animators. They created a beautifully vibrant film that looks good in the pond, city, and islands. They excel with their use of color to set the tone for a scene and to help us tell the animals apart. The area where they showed the slights hint of a struggle was with character designs that are just a bit off. The Mallards have bills that are not correctly shaped, and Chump, the leader of the gang of pigeons, looks nothing like the rest of the species. I initially found the designs distracting, but I can see how others would find them quirky and cute, and eventually, it just became a fact that this is what they look like

“Migration” was a modest hit, with me earning a 3.5 out of 5, and I think it should see a similar response at the box office. It will easily entertain children and not come close to putting off adults. “Migration” is not “Paw Patrol,” but it also isn’t “Toy Story.” Managing expectations will be the key to having a good time during a family trip to the theater this holiday season.

Genre: Animated Kids & family
Original Language: English
Director: Benjamin Renner
Producer: Christopher Meledandri
Writer: Mike White
Runtime: 1h 32m
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Illumination Entertainment