Some people need to seek new experiences to feel like they’re truly living their lives. Others are content to stay home, where it’s comfortable, predictable, and most importantly, safe. In the animated family film Migration, we meet a family of Mallard ducks who share these attributes with their human counterparts, and we get a bird’s eye view of what happens when they break out of their comfort zone and get a taste of real life.
What’s Migration about?
Mack Mallard (voiced by Kumail Nanjiani) is a duck daddy whose crippling anxiety keeps him from ever leaving the small pond they call home. While the other Mallards take to the skies for their annual migration to southern climes, Mack and his wife Pam (Elizabeth Banks), son Dax (Caspar Jennings), and daughter Gwen (Tresi Gazal) hunker down and endure cold winters.
In the first of three trailers, Mack and his family meet another family of “worldly” migrating ducks who make a pit stop at their pond during their journey south. This new family shares tall tales of their adventures, sparking a desire in Pam and the kids that refused to be extinguished by Mack’s wet blanket.
“I don’t want to miss out on life because you’re too scared of leaving the pond,” Pam implores Mack in the trailer.
Anyone who’s been living through the COVID-19 pandemic can tell you that not everyone has emerged from the worst of it unscathed. Some people, including many who are well-balanced and mentally healthy, are still reluctant to leave their “safety zones” years later. We see you, Mack … and we understand.
After some cajoling, Mack reluctantly agrees to fly south with his family. They set off on a trip that takes them through the beating heart of New York City and ends in sunny Jamaica. Naturally, it’s not smooth sailing, because where’s the fun in that?
The Mallards make their way south, encountering a (sort of) street smart NYC pigeon/gang leader called Chump (Awkwafina), a caged Jamaican parrot named Delroy (Keegan-Michael Key), and a hungry heron named Erin, played by perennial scene-stealer Carol Kane. Danny DeVito also stars as Dan, Mack’s grumpy yet hilarious uncle.
The trailers hint at plenty of misadventure and funny situations for our Mallard pals, including an eye-opening scene in a French restaurant when the chef is preparing Duck à l’Orange. “What’s Duck a l’Orange?” Gwen asks innocently.
“It’s you … with l’Orange on top,” Chump replies drolly.
Who’s behind the scenes?
Migration was announced on February 18, 2022 by animation studio Illumination. Other Illumination (and Universal Pictures, which co-owns the company and distributes its films) projects include all of the Despicable Me films, The Secret Life of Pets, Sing, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Minions: The Rise of Gru, among others.
Illumination co-founder and CEO Chris Melendandri produced Migration, which was written by The White Lotus scribe Mike White. John Powell (The Lorax) wrote the score, and French animator, graphic artist, and comic book creator Benjamin Renner was hired to co-direct with Guylo Homsy.
Incidentally, Renner has earned 14 Academy Award nominations for his work on Ernest et Célestine, but Migration was his first time working with computer generated animation.
“It’s not about migration, it’s about adventure.”
Pam tells her husband that their trip is more about adventure than mere habit, which is the movie’s overarching theme according to an interview White gave to Entertainment Weekly. When writing the film, White hoped to show that those who have “anxiety and fear about the world” aren’t living as fully as they could if they put themselves out there and met new, different people.
White also asserts that Migration is a bit different than other animated movies produced under the Illumination umbrella. It’s not just for children; it’s a movie that even adults will relate to.
“Compared to some other Illumination movies, I think it has a little bit more poetry maybe,” White said. “There’s some wistfulness and some more parental type of themes that I think transcend just a kids’ movie, but I think it still has a visual zaniness that kids respond to.”
When and where can we watch Migration?
Migration premiered on October 19, 2023 at the VIEW Conference in Turin, Italy. It was originally slated to hit theaters in summer 2023, but its United States release date was then moved to December 22, 2023. It may not technically be a Christmas movie, but since it’s arriving in theaters just a few days beforehand, its family-forward message could be just what audiences want.
“‘There’s no place like home’ is a very basic theme, but it’s also the idea of ‘a home is where your family is,'” said White. “Wherever you are, if you’re out on an adventure or you’re staying put where you live, it’s really the people that you’re spending it with that matters. I think that is such a holiday message.”
Migration will be released in theaters on December 22, 2023. Per a deal between Universal and Netflix, the film will also stream on Peacock for the first four months and will then move to Netflix for your streaming pleasure.
(featured image: Universal Pictures)
