It’s time to see the first animation of 2024, well as long as you’re Ireland. This latest animated adventure from Universal was released in the US last year. This strange decision aside, how is Migration?
Well, this is one of the easiest reviews I’ve written in a while. It’s a lot of fun and I was genuinely worried it would be another cookie-cutter animation from Illumination that has relied on its despicable minions for far too long. This feeling wasn’t helped when the film had a Minions short before it.
Thankfully, as I said previously, Migration is a lot of fun. The film follows a family of ducks who are playing it a little too safe. Mack, the father played by Kumail Nanjiani is a massive worry wort. He has found a safe haven with his family and doesn’t want to put that at risk. Unfortunately, one day change comes flying into his pond and with it his whole family want to migrate for the season, the first time they’d ever do it. What happens next is a charming and fun adventure.
What struck me first about Migration was its art style. It’s a lot of warm colours and interesting design choices. The villain is a particular highlight, he’s angular and has a lot of interesting colours giving him a memorable and menacing presence.
The jokes of the film are bolstered by a cast with great personality and comedic timing. With Elizabeth Banks playing Pam the mom and Danny DeVito playing the weird uncle you can’t go wrong. On top of that is a great performance from Keegan Michael Key as Delroy a homesick bird key to getting the family to their destination.
There are also two young actors I have to give a shout out to. Caspar Jennings and Tresi Gazal, who play Dax and Gwen respectively are the children of the family. They bring a wonderfully infectious charm to their characters that elevates the relationship within the family.
Migration as a whole has a lot of fun ideas, has some pretty impressive scenes, involving the ducks soaring above the clouds, and will definitely make the little ones laugh. It’s also one of those films that could be put on for the whole family to grow up with.
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