Posts Tagged ‘David Mitchell’

MIGRATION: 3 STARS. “good messages about overcoming fears”

“Migration,” a new animated film from Illumination Studios, starring the voices of Elizabeth Banks, Awkwafina and Kumail Nanjiani, and now playing in theatres, is a story about broadening horizons, set against the wild blue yonder.

The story focusses on the Mallards, a family of ducks who lead a quiet, happy life on New England’s bucolic Moosehead Pond. Mack (Kumail Nanjiani) is the protective father who keeps his kids, son Dax (Caspar Jennings) and daughter Gwen (Tresi Gazal), in line by telling them terrible stories of the perils of predators in the world outside their watery home.

When another flock uses the pond as a pit stop in their migration south, it sparks the imaginations of Dax, Gwen and mother Pam (Elizabeth Banks). Mack is not as inspired. He says he’ll only leave the pond if he can find a safer place for his family to live, but the rest of the family wonder what exciting things happening beyond their little corner of the world.

“I don’t want to miss out on life because you’re afraid to leave this pond,” Pam says, scolding Mack.

Mom and the kids are keen to hit the sky, see the world, and migrate to tropical Jamaica for the winter. Mack is reluctant, but is convinced to take flight with Pam, the kids and his curmudgeonly Uncle Dan (Danny DeVito) in tow.

“There’s a whole world we’ve been missing out on,” Pam says. “Things we didn’t even know existed.”

At a stop in New York City they liberate homesick Jamaican parrot Delroy (Keegan-Michael Key) from his prison inside a Manhattan restaurant, run by a Chef (Jason Marin) who specializes in Duck a l’orange.

“What’s Duck a l’orange?” asks Gwen.

“It’s you,” says Chump (Awkwafina), the hardnosed leader of an NYC gang of pigeons, “with l’orange on top.”

As they to stay off the Chef’s menu, the Mallard’s migration morphs from vacation, to journey of discovery as they are exposed to the great big world.

“We’re going to finish this crazy, wonderful adventure,” says Mack.

“Migration” is a fun, but slight, movie for the whole family with good messages about personal growth and overcoming fears. The lessons are simple, presented in a likable, fast-paced fashion, that don’t try too hard to moralize or teach. It’s a lighthearted adventure with none of the darkness implied by the presence of co-writer Mike White of “White Lotus” fame.

From the mild horror of an encounter with an elderly heron (Carol Kane) who may, or may not, have a taste for mallard chicks to the chaotic landing in NYC, the epitome of all of Mack’s fears, each of the big set pieces offer up a new high-flying adventure. It’s episodic, which offers up the chance for the Mallards to interact with new characters at every stop, providing variation in the story, and new opportunities in each chapter for situational humour.

“Migration” doesn’t have the same anarchic brashness as Illumination’s “Despicable Me” films. If you’re hungry for more Minions madness, be sure to arrive on time to see “Mooned,” a stand-alone short from the Minion Universe that opens the show. It rounds out “Migration’s” brief run time (under an hour-and-a-half) and contains a healthy dose of Minion magic.

Slight, but funny and fast-paced, “Migration” is an enjoyable, escapist movie with lively voice work—kids will love baby duck Gwen—and an adventurous spirit.