Migration

Spiritually Speaking at the Movies. "Migration." What seems to be the most important question in an animation film aimed at kids is, do they like it AND is the message one you want children to ingest, recall later and act upon? The answer to both those questions in "Migration" is a resounding YES! My wife and I saw this movie with our 10-year-old grandson. He said at the end, “If I had to rate this movie, it would be a 10 out of 10.”

There you have it, straight from the age group that matters the most — and this unsolicited remark was made by a child who has no idea I write movie reviews. I defer to his judgement, and perhaps that’s enough for adults to give "Migration" a chance in the theaters and take the kiddies too. The little laughing kids I saw filing out of the theatre all looked happy.

Why defer? Because no matter what you may have heard some reviewers say about "Migration," kids like it. As a major plus, spiritually speaking there is virtually nothing objectionable in it. Included are enough laugh moments for adults to enjoy as well, all wrapped up in a beautiful eye-candy animation spectacle (on a movie screen at least). There was no scrimping on the animation budget in "Migration." The story line is more than acceptable.

The Fearful Ducks!

In fact, the obstacle set up in the movie deals with a fearful family of ducks. Well, just Daddy duck, really, — who wants nothing more out of life than safety and security for him, his mate and two-duckling family. What loving Papa doesn’t want that for his kids? He’s being responsible, right? But this father does it in a cowardly kind of way which is made clear at the start (almost annoyingly so for adult viewers).

Things come to a head when the kids wanna fly far and away and are frustrated with the same ‘ol same ‘ol. Thus, the premise is set; Dad either gets with the program and leads the way, or nobody, including Mama duck, is happy. This makes Dad duck realize that his way may not have been the best for all. Pause and consider.

Dad finally decides it’s time to make that change and leads the family into the wild blue yonder to… wait, does anyone know how to get to Jamaica? Let the chaos begin. There is something to be said here about planning.

Clever…and safe.

The voices used throughout the film are all excellent, and some downright funny. The one human antagonist in the story, however, has no speaking words at all, in a sort of Shawn the Sheep fashion. Why is that? I suppose to keep real adults from being a threat to small children in the audience, and If that’s so, I’m glad the film-makers made the choice and put kids, and parents, at ease.

What’s clever about "Migration" are the cast of characters encountered as they make way for ducklings who just wanna have fun in the sun. For kids, the banter between them is a great experience. I say it that way because "Migration" is not "Puss n’ Boots: The Last Wish," which for now is a gold standard for clever writing, deeper insights, hilarious characters and fast-moving action in the animation category, that includes adults in the fun.

But, again, will a six to 10-year-old watching "Migration" make that comparison? Kids are much more forgiving than a perhaps jaded movie reviewer who sees a film alone, maybe three in a day, has seen it all, has to write a review and go on to the next movie. Maybe they HAVE seen it all. But have the young ones? And not having to take a moral stand about the content of a kid’s movie is welcome.

I hesitate to say, “ask Ryan instead of an adult reviewer” (if you know who that U-Tube child is) but the point is made; sometimes kids in the audience DO know best.

Caveat

The only caveat I have as an adult observer is about some fairly scary moments the duck family faces when they are befriended by Herons, who, as Papa says, “Like to eat ducks.” I was wondering if that 5-year-old or so girl in her tutu at the theatre could navigate that threat, but it all ended well, and life goes on.

We adults ended up enjoying "Migration" for what it was ; a very visually pleasant, fun-filled adventure for kids who still listen to Mom and Dad, and just want parents to open a door or two for them in life’s adventure. And for our grand kids, well… it was a 10.

"Migration" from Illumination Studios, released Dec. 22, 2023, is 1 hour 23 minutes, and features voice characters from Danny DeVito as the not-so-optimistic Uncle Dan , David Mitchell (UpStart Crow) and Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians) as the pigeon "gang-leader" in the big city.