Anthony's Film Review - Migration (2023)

A fun 90-minute animated film that makes you appreciate birds more...

I always love movies that anthropomorphize animals, especially if they provide a new perspective on familiar aspects of the animal world. For a long time, we never really saw a fictional movie about the migration of birds, at least not until late 2023. The animated film Migration, from the studio called Illumination that also gave us Despicable Me and Minions, is about that: migration. Well, not in the usual sense, as a necessary means for survival when seasons change. Rather, the migration is really an impromptu vacation trip.

This involves a family of five mallard ducks. Mack the father (voiced by Kumail Nanjiani) is fearful of the world beyond their familiar pond. In contrast, Pam the mother (voiced by Elizabeth Banks) is the more reasonable and adventurous one, understanding the yearning for exploration that their two kids, Dax (voiced by Caspar Jennings) and Gwen (voiced by Tresi Gazal), are exhibiting. Then there's Uncle Dan (voiced by Danny DeVito) who is old, fat, and somewhat slow after living a long time at the pond. After some dramatic dynamics with this family, there is ultimately an agreement to fly to Jamaica and experience a new adventure.

Interestingly, this movie has the feel of a road-trip film. You know those comedy movies where a group of human characters hit the road in a vehicle, on a long journey to a destination they're eager to get to, and they encounter all sorts of obstacles on the way? Well, it's similar here. Granted, we're talking about ducks that fly in the sky, but they still face some trouble on the way to Jamaica. Plenty of it occurs in the city of New York, and plenty of that comes in the form of a cruel restaurant chef who expects the birds on his dishes to be cooked to perfection.

This movie is only 90 minutes long, so one naturally expects this to be relatively fast-paced. To a certain extent, that is the case. The first half feels like a series of vignettes. In other words, segments that don't really connect. It's just one obstacle situation after another. But eventually, something interesting happens in the second half, suddenly raising the stakes. I found myself liking it more than expected. Through it all, I laughed a little while not getting bored by the story.

As usual, I tracked how I felt while watching this movie by imagining a needle moving along my 1-to-10 scale. From the start, it felt like a 6 out of 10, meaning it was OK. The needle gradually inched its way to a 7 before remaining there to the end. So that's my rating for Migration: 7 out of 10 stars, meaning it's good. I have to admit. I like this duck family enough for me to not look at ducks, or any kind of bird, the same way again. In a good way. With appreciation.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about Migration, visit the Internet Movie Database.