A scene from ‘Migration’.
| Photo Credit: Illumination/YouTube
Before the movie Migration, there is an eight-minute short film, Mooned, in which Vector (Jason Segel), Gru’s (Steve Carell) antagonist in 2010’s Despicable Me, is trying to get off the moon, where he gets marooned by Gru at the end of the film. Directed by Jonathan del Val and written by Pierre Coffin, Mooned also features the yellow and blue Minions (Coffin) who try to help Vector get off the moon. Vector, unfortunately does not twig onto that. Mooned is suitably funny, bright and busy to set the tone for the main feature.
Migration (English)
Director: Benjamin Renner
Voice cast: Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Keegan-Michael Key, Awkwafina, Danny DeVito
Story line: A family of ducks decide to set out on a grand adventure
Run time: 83 minutes
We meet a family of mallards who live in a forest in New England. Mack (Kumail Nanjiani) is an anxious father who believes in keeping your head down and living a quiet life. His wife, Pam (Elizabeth Banks), son, Dax (Caspar Jennings), and daughter, Gwen (Tresi Gazal), don’t believe in this view. When a family of ducks stop by the pond on their way to Jamaica, Dax gets smitten by Kim (Isabela Merced). While Mack politely tells the family off, Pam, Dax and Gwen feel an adventure and exploration of the world outside the pond would be fun.
Cranky Uncle Dan (Danny DeVito) unwittingly convinces Mack to migrate to Jamaica. A storm blows them off course, and after sheltering with the scary but ultimately kindly Erin (Carol Kane), a blue heron, and her mate, the family come to the New York City, where they meet the tough leader of pigeons, Chump (Awkwafina) and a homesick macaw Delroy (Keegan-Michael Key) who could tell them the way to Jamaica.
After many adventures and crossing knives with a bejewelled chef, who is wisely described by Chump as “a predator, but instead of eating you, he serves you to a bunch of lazier predators”, and meeting a yoga-inclined duck leader, GooGoo (David Mitchell), the Mallard Family finally get to see the blue mountains of Jamaica.
The voice work is excellent— Awkwafina is immediately recognisable as the warm, raspy, take-no-prisoners chump, even as De Vito is marvellous as Dan, and the action has the right amount of zing. The animation is vibrant and eye-catching without the sterility of computer animation. Everything is right about Migration, from the look and feel to the length.
Migration is currently running in theatres