Film Review: "Migration" (2023).

"Soar into a new adventure" in Migration. This animated adventure comedy film directed by Benjamin Renner, co-directed by Guylo Homsy, written by Mike White, and produced by Illumination. The Mallard family is in a bit of rut. While dad Mack is content to keep his family safe paddling around their New England pond forever, mom Pam is eager to shake things up and show their kids—teen son Dax and duckling daughter Gwen—the whole wide world. After a migrating duck family alights on their pond with thrilling tales of far-flung places, Pam persuades Mack to embark on a family trip, via New York City, to tropical Jamaica. As the Mallards make their way South for the winter, their well-laid plans quickly go awry. The experience will inspire them to expand their horizons, open themselves up to new friends and accomplish more than they ever thought possible, while teaching them more about each other—and themselves—than they ever imagined.

In February 2022, Illumination announced a new film titled Migration, with Renner attached to direct with Homsy as co-director and White to pen the script. Renner described the film as Little Miss Sunshine (2006), but with ducks. The film's tone becomes more tense as the story progresses. Renner drew influences from his childhood experiences and dynamics with his family when making humorous situations for the Mallard family. When shaping the film's humor, Renner wanted to avoid "lazy jokes," which he felt were common in family films. He aimed for a sense of humor that could appeal to both children and adults. Additionally, a general rule he made for himself was for there to be no fart jokes. The filmmakers sought to treat the humans in the film in the way they believed ducks perceived them. White described the film as using a "comedic fantasy landscape" to explore its central themes. He said that the film has more depth than a standard children's film and a lot of Illumination's output, but still retains a zaniness that appeals to children. Like all the Illumination films, the film was animated by Illumination Studios Paris. Renner was tasked with adapting his minimalist drawing style from previous films for a computer-animated film, which requires backgrounds to be fully visualized and rendered instead of suggested. Renner described the difference between traditional animation and computer animation as being that the former is additive while the latter is subtractive. Working with computer animation, the director found that there were many elements he felt did not belong, such as texture, lighting, and shading.

The film stars the voice talents of Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Keegan-Michael Key, Awkwafina, Carol Kane, David Mitchell, Isabela Merced, and Danny DeVito. The film benefits from a good voice cast, bright and beautiful animation, and very funny and charming moments.

The film is consistently funny, it moves like the wind, and it's bizarre enough that adults might get more out of the odd storyline than kids just wanting to find out where babies come from.

Simon says Migration receives:

Also, see my reviews for The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales (Le Grand Méchant Renard et autres contes) and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.