Migration Review

Illumination enters into the world of wildlife with its duck-centric film Migration.

The Mallards are a family of ducks who live on a pond in the forest. Mack (Kumail Nanjiani), the family patriarch is overly protective and tells his family that can never leave the pond, even though his wife, Pam (Elizabeth Banks), and son Dax (Casper Jennings), want to join the migration to Jamacia. Mack has a change of heart when meeting his Uncle Dan (Danny DeVito) and leads them on the perilous journey to the Caribbean.

Illumination’s films are not as deep as Pixar’s or Dreamworks’, but they have been profitable. They know how to entertain families and children; they gave the world the Minions and The Super Mario Bros. Movie was one of only two films to break the billion-dollar barrier in 2023. Migration was arguably one of their lesser films because it has a modest Rotten Tomatoes score and the US box office return was underwhelming.

Migration was a formulaic and predictable film. It looked like it was a corporate mandate to be as safe as possible so it could appeal to as broad an audience as possible, especially since the film was not based on an ‘original property.’ The film is about animals, which is often a winner with young audiences: I loved animal-related media when I was a child and my young nephew wanted to see Migration because he likes ducks. Added to that, two of the main characters were cute young ducks with an aim to appeal to kids. The set-up was like The Croods since there was an overprotective father who needed to learn to loosen up, be prepared to take risks, and let himself and his family live their best lives. There was a sequence in the film where the ducks go into a kitchen where their kind was being served for dinner. It felt like the “Les Poissons” scene in the animated version of The Little Mermaid. These comparisons were compounded by the fact the Mallard family was trying to save a Jamaican-accented macaw.

Migration was a road movie. It was about the journey, not the destination. The Mallards go from their lake to New York to a duck farm and help various characters along the way. Over a series of adventures the family bonds. Migration was the duck version of the Vacation films.

Migration did something right since the kids in the audience I was in were enjoying it. It’s the second film my five-year-old nephew didn’t need to use the toilet (the first being Wonka), and I noticed only a small number of kids didn’t need to leave the film. There were plenty of slapstick antics throughout the film. A highlight was when the Mallards attempted to save Delroy (Keegan-Michael Key) from his psychotic captor. There were also wacky characters for audiences to enjoy, like the neurotic dad, the grumpy older uncle, a couple of creepy elderly herons, a colourful parrot, and most surprisingly, David Mitchell playing a yoga instructor farm duck. Awkwafina’s Chump did look like Tweety from the Looney Tunes if he lived a hard street life.

The villain of the piece was the psychotic chef. He was modelled on the celebrity chef Salt Bae, since they were men with long hair and muscular builds, and wore a t-shirt and sunglasses. Like Salt Bae, the chef liked to flaunt his wealth. Considering Salt Bae has destroyed his reputation due to his overpriced restaurant, celebrity chasing, and actions at the 2022 World Cup Final, adults appreciated a little bit of mick-taking.

Migration was a film that will entertain children in the moment, but will not make a lasting impression. It was a harmless animated adventure.

Paired with Migration was the short film Mooned. This was a spin-off from the first Despicable Me film as it showed the villainous Vector stranded on the Moon and desperately looking for a way to return to Earth. It was a simple, slapstick-heavy affair and felt like a Looney Tunes short. Vector was playing the role of Wile E. Coyote or Sylvester the Cat, someone who we enjoy seeing get hurt as they fail constantly.