These cute ducks fly over its formulas.
Parents who are forced to bring their young children to see “Migration” will recognize these mallard ducks possessing some of the character personalities and ambitions of “Little Miss Sunshine.” There’s the dad who is cynical about taking a trip, the mom who convinces her husband they must do it, the boy who loses his chance to fly but is determined to find another way, the daughter who is cute and outgoing, and the uncle (instead of the grandpa) who is a curmudgeon.
“Migration” is the latest animated feature in Illumination’s filmography and also another animated film to do its own “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” but we’re mostly looking at it in the “Little Miss Sunshine” way. Well, at least the adults are. The kids not so much.
One way to look at this is to look back at last summer’s documentary “Lynch/Oz,” which was an examination on how even the tiniest detail from “The Wizard of Oz” can make major impacts on other filmmakers for their own movies. As I like to say: “It’s the little things that help make the big things.”
And another way is to acknowledge the old “Simpsons” message that “Animation is built on plagiarism.” I’ve said this before in my reviews of “Trolls World Tour” and “The Bad Guys,” and I’ll say it again.
The story is run-of-the-mill, but it’s a cuter bird movie than “Free Birds,” which came out literally a decade ago. They don’t rely on gags that sound like they were added at the last minute, but rather some movie nostalgia that older audiences can relate to. The kids will just go for the cartoon ducks, which makes a lot of sense. Or they might be reminded of other animated movies like “Rio,” “An American Tail,” or “101 Dalmatians.” More or less; it all depends.
The father duck is Mack (voiced by Kumail Nanjani), who has always been afraid to leave the nest, although there’s no back story why. I can assume his parents were killed, which would have been part of an animation tradition, as Roger Ebert examined, that the parents have to die in the beginning of the film. His wife Pam (voiced by Elizabeth Banks) is at her wits end with his fears and cynicism, especially when he becomes rude to another family of ducks on their way to Jamaica. Their two kids: older brother Dax (voiced by Caspar Jennings) and little sister Gwen (voiced by Tresi Gazal) also want to take the trip. And their Uncle Dan (voiced by Danny DeVito) is actually quite content with his lonely life.
So Mack finally comes around and takes everyone on the trip. Of course, they have to face a few detours. One of them involves a heron (voiced by Carol Kane), who seems more like an “X” old lady than a Miyazaki character. Another involves a pigeon gang leader named Chump (voiced by Awkwafina), who needs an attitude adjustment if she’s going to give herself that name. And the other involves a Jamaican parrot (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key) trapped in a Manhattan restaurant, whose chef communicates through growls and evil laughs like a “Pink Panther” or “Shaun the Sheep” villain.
Do we need the pigeon? No, because she tries to make the movie seem mean-spirited and noisy. Is the villain necessary? Not really. But did I go for these ducks and some of their voice actors? Yes, I did. I liked Banks, Key, DeVito, and Gazal, and I liked its “Little Miss Sunshine” influence. After all, that movie changed my life and made me who I am. I said it before, and I’ll keep saying it until I die. Writer/director Benjamin Renner (“Ernest & Celestine”) and co-writer Mike White don’t broaden the story’s horizons, but they keep things on a decent enough pace for kids. I may be in my 30s, but that doesn’t mean I’m made of stone.
