THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Family vacations are definitely make or break moments in our lives and if you disagree, you probably didn't see Migration.
PLOT
The film follows a family of ducks known as the Mallards: Mack, his wife Pam, preteen son Dax and younger daughter Gwen. While the former is extremely afraid of the would outside their home pond, the rest of the family is eager to explore and feel extremely driven when encountering a flock of ducks migrating to Jamaica. Mack would only change his mind when his Uncle Dan visits and doesn't want to be alone like him. So after they first take off, a rainstorm occurs which causes them to take shelter. Surprisingly, they spend the night at a shack that belongs to two elderly herons named Erin and Harry. Despite worry of being threats, Mack would see the bigger birds to be friendly when protecting them from a catfish. By sunrise, they keep moving and find themselves in New York and quickly have conflict with a flock of pigeons over hood. The pugnacious leader Chump puts them in good graces when respecting Pam's fiery disposition. When they ask for directions to Jamaica, she takes them to a scarlet macaw named Delroy who originates from there. However, he is caged by a human chef who owns him. This inspires Mack & Pam to quickly free him after stealing the cage's key from the chef's jacket. After evading him long enough, they free the macaw who returns the favor by guiding them to Jamaica. When Gwen has a bathroom break on the ground, rather than while flying like other birds would, the group finds a place of paradise led by a male pekin named GooGoo (David Mitchell). However, Dax would quickly deduce the paradise is instead a farm where the chef is one of the arriving customers. Just when he warns the other pekins and tells them to escape, he loses his feathers that deem him flightless due to being stepped on by the opposing threat. Mack would carry him for the next flight where they would all recover at a resort. Upon landing, Mack would scold his son for being heedless with his actions. As they all rest at night, the chef would find them and capture all but Dax & Gwen. The chef tends to kill Mack & Pam as an act of revenge for saving Delroy. He isolates them in a smaller cage, but the couple work together to reach a button that frees the other birds. Just when the chef catches him though, Delroy stands up to him with the assist of Dan and the pekins by pelting fruit & vegetables at him. Their last shot would knock him unconscious in which he lands on the button that frees them while he gets trapped in a net. Dax regains flight when tying other feathers to his wings and with the help of Gwen, they free their parents from the cage, giving the chance for Dax to reconcile with his dad. With all the birds free, they eventually find their way to Jamaica as planned where not only do the Mallards meet the other duck flock from before, but Delroy also reunites with his family. By the following spring, Dax has grown back his feathers and the Mallards plan to return to their original home pond, but the film ends in a cliffhanger where Mack convinces the family to go on another trip in which they guide a group of lost penguins to the South Pole.
THOUGHTS
I don't expect greatness from Illumination because it's hard to have the same magic Despicable Me had in 2010, but I do expect having a quick batch of fun which is exactly what this was. Directors Benjamin Renner & Guylo Homsy and cowriter Mike White gave a straightforward family adventure that hits the checkmarks in providing the laughs and its fair amount of heart. The 3D animation is predictably great at this point because it's hard to fail in that area, but I did enjoy the 2D opening very much as that proves it can still be refreshing as the newer form of storytelling. The comedy comes from all the fair share of hijinks that we get to see where the unlikely play out very well. The dynamic of the Mallards is fun and all, but the supporting characters shined the most when it came to said comedy. Chump is hardly there, yet Awkwafina made the best of it for being a leader who has to be cynical to keep her guard up, only to let it go when she least expects it because i was cackling when she got ran over thrice in a row. Keegan Michael Key definitely made Delroy likable for being honorable to the Mallards, but him getting lost before the climax had me in stitches. It was cool having Danny Devito as Uncle Dan because he was the most laidback who enjoyed being on his own but sticks around due to the love he has for his family deep down. Even having Carol Kane as Erin is a win because her being an overly excited heron that protects the ducks was a solid example on being more than what meant the eye. Now I think this movie stands out fairly compared to Illumination’s past films because it’s a neat iteration on how you should live life to the fullest and overcome your fears to avoid self restraint otherwise you won’t make the memories you wish. This is the dynamic of the Mallard family because Kumail Nanjiani is rightfully paranoid as Mack who most likely has the worst experiences of exploring the world before having a family and originally didn’t want to bear putting them at risk. He changes his mind because he didn’t want to regret disappointing his family when having good intentions and wanted them to be happy. Danger came as he predicted, but since they had each others backs, they were still able to overcome the odds. I enjoyed Elizabeth Banks a lot as Pam because she is his polar opposite where she is eager to create great memories via exploring which she passes on to her kids because life isn’t exciting if you don’t get out of your comfort zone. Sure Uncle Dan was the deal breaker, but her different point of view is what made Mack change his mind for the best. I enjoyed Dax as well because Caspar Jennings plays him as one who pushes boundaries when it comes to bravery, taking risks that his dad would be hesitant on. Despite being reckless half the time, the other half was useful because he was able to save his parents to prove his worth which worked out big time. Lucky for him, he wasn’t alone in this personal journey. Fresh Gazal was adorable as Gwen because her youth made her just as eager to put herself out there. She’s also all about keeping family together like her dad would, hence begging Uncle Dan in hysterical fashion to come with them or hugging her brother against his will to calm him down. I’m still in awe she got a crocodile as pet. If she’s as strong as Jack Jack from The Incredibles, that would be hilarious to see. Little moments like that made the experience all the more pleasant for me and she’d the sole reason for me to consider seeing a sequel. If not, then seeing the collage of the trip with the penguins is as close as we’ll get and I’m okay with it. I also thought it was cool for the human chef to not have much speaking lines as it reflects he’s the true animal in this story since he had no remorse to the species he was going after. I didn't mind this movie for the most part, but what threw me off was how fast of a pace it went. I was able to connect to the main characters, but the whole film felt like a race to go from checkpoint to checkpoint. I mean it's crazy of an experience to have because past Illumination films never had that feeling despite knowing what you're in for. 80 minutes is a refreshing runtime, but I don't mind 20 more just to flesh out the other characters a little more. With this decision, it creates a lot of issues I would pick up on. To be honest, I do respect Pam being open she wanted to explore outside the pond. So why didn't she just go without Mack's consent? If she and the kids really wanted to go, they would've gone with the blue flock before Mack changed his mind. I know animation bends reality all the time, but since ducks are known to have bad hearing, I refuse to believe Mack heard Dan from afar when they reach NY. That's more unbelievable than the sandwich he fights the pigeons being unbitten when it was found in the trash. And I don't see the point in the chef having the key to Delroy's cage with him at all times instead of just near his desk. It's one thing to create an obstacle for the protagonists, but also a pointless way to show how controlling the villain is. I even have to stretch this out wondering how come Chump hasn't tired freeing Delroy with the other pigeons? If they're friends, this would've been over a long time ago. They could've at least implied Chump tried but that doesn't happen. And where were the shovels coming from at the farm? I refuse to believe the pekins would play with that compared to freaking slide. Other than that, this movie ain't so bad. In short, Migration is another good entry from Illumination's catalog for being nothing but a good time from start to finish. If animated animal movies are still your thing like Sing, I don't see a reason to skip this
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