Are the hitmakers at Illumination ready to take a quack at another global blockbuster? The Despicable Me and Sing studio, which scored the year’s biggest animation box-office success with The Super Mario Bros. Movie (the No. 2 film of 2023 overall both domestically [$574.9 million] and worldwide [$1.35 billion], behind Barbie), appears to have been cleared for take off with largely positive reviews for its latest feature, Migration. The film takes wing in U.S. theaters on December 22 through Universal Pictures.
Directed by Oscar nominee Benjamin Renner (Ernest & Celestine, The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales) from a screenplay by Emmy-winning White Lotus creator Mike White, the CG animated adventure’s autumnal palette, thrilling airborne action and hearty feathering of humor have added up to a 72% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes (from 39 reviews), with a decent 60 on MetaCritic (15 reviews). Already released in several European territories as well as Mexico, Migration has picked up $12.235M in theaters so far (France, where Illumination originates, is the strongest market with a $1.9M opening).
Interestingly, the megahit Mario came out of the critical wringer with a “rotten” 59% on the Tomatometer — offset by a 95% audience score. Last year’s prequel release, Minions: The Rise of Gru, scored 69% from critics and 89% from viewers.
Migration tells the story of the Mallard family who take the flight of their life. When migrating ducks land in their quiet pond, mom Pam (voiced by Elizabeth Banks) persuades her risk-averse hubby Mack (Kumail Nanjiani) to take the kids (Caspar Jennings and Tresi Gazal) on a trip to Jamaica — however, a chaotic stop over in New York City quickly throws a wrench in their plans. The cast also features Awkwafina, Keegan-Michael Key, David Mitchell, Carol Kane and Danny DeVito.
Here’s what some of the critics have to say about Illumination’s duck tale:
“What’s nice about Migration is how, between the comedic bits and tangential adventures, it never loses sight of the lessons embedded in the Mallards’ story … [It] is, above all, an enjoyable film made with heart and a respect for its audience. Sure, there are rough patches, but most of that can be forgiven. Renner’s direction animates key moments. Scenes of the Mallards soaring, quite gracefully, through the clouds or huddled together as they try to cross a busy intersection visually affirm their love and intimacy. A well-assembled cast of voice actors brings the characters to life.”
— Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter
“Migration is vividly animated with warm cartoon tones that would do Daffy proud. But it never quite spreads its wings. Stories of overly cautious moms or dads turned adventurers are not exactly fresh material, even if it is atypical that a helicopter parent like Mack can actually fly … Migration begins to feel more like a wild goose chase. That’s not the worst thing for a holiday family movie, though it happens to make Migration very comfortably the second-best heron-featuring movie in theaters right now.”
— Jake Coyle, Associated Press
“Wacky hijinks ensue, colorful animation (computer-animated, but harkening back to Renner’s comic book bonafides) spills from the screen, and the ducks (plus the pigeon, plus the parrot, plus whoever else they find along the way) are soon spinning their way through a wild adventure punctuated by a bad guy in a helicopter. It is very silly and often strange, but it’s also sweet and funny, and damn it all if you don’t start to really care about this odd little family.”
— Kate Erbland, IndieWire
“There’s nothing controversial in French filmmaker Benjamin Renner’s film. This is a feel-good movie that offers a little bit of an escape for families with no plans for a vacation to warmer climes. The humor is gentle, and the ensemble cast maintains the tone, although a scene or two may momentarily terrify a truly sensitive toddler (as was evident by a couple of adorable shrieks in my screening) … Clearly, kids’ movies can strike a chord when they dip into the depths of family dynamics, even if they use ducks as a decoy.”
— Aparita Bhandari, The Globe and Mail
“Renner, who created the charming Big Bad Fox comics and directed its feature adaptation in 2017, brings a painterly approach to the character designs, which are evocative of his drawing style despite being filtered through a CGI lens. That approach, coupled with White’s script, which knows when to keep it light and when to edge right up to the darkness (the knife-wielding chef could inspire some nightmares), makes for a dynamic experience with a more distinct authorial imprint than the usual Illumination fare.”
— Zaki Hasan, San Francisco Chronicle
“Even at just 70-something minutes (before credits), the movie seems to take forever getting to its destination, delivering its funniest bit up front in the form of Mooned, a 10-minute short that catches up with Despicable Me villain Vector (Jason Segel) in exile. And thus, Migration finds a way to work in Minions. That’s essentially what Illumination audiences want anyway. Not ducks. In that department, Donald and Daffy pretty much have it covered. Among this year toons, the chickens ran away with the show.”
— Peter Debruge, Variety
