During the opening scenes of Migration, I found myself thinking “we’ve seen this plot before.” It begins with a reluctant and overprotective father duck who wants to keep his family and himself away from scary dangers - does that sound like a certain clown fish we know and love, anyone?

 

That said, there was enough here to keep my interest. Migration is a visually attractive and heartwarming animated film that offers a fun and adventurous journey for the whole family. While the plot may not be groundbreaking, the charming characters, witty humor and positive message make it a worthwhile watch.

 

Migration is about a family of Mallard ducks who decide to leave the safety of their New England pond for an adventurous trip to Jamaica. The dad is reluctant at first, but he is soon convinced to take the trip. However, their plans go wrong when they get lost and wind up in NYC instead.

 

There is some entertaining work done here by the voice cast, which includes Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Keegan-Michael Key, Awkwafina and Danny DeVito. The film was directed by Benjamin Renner, co-directed by Guylo Homsy, and produced by Chris Meledandri from a screenplay written by Mike White and a story by White and Renner.

 

Migration is full of fun moments that will make you wish you could fly - and a few scary moments that will leave you viewing herons and pigeons in a whole new light. I do wonder if chefs are tired of being portrayed as evil villains in animated movies (both here and in Disney’s The Little Mermaid).

 

I love the overall theme or message, which is about getting out of your comfort zone and realizing that life will always have scary moments but the important thing is facing our fear and not letting it hold us back.

 

Families looking for fun and wholesome viewing during winter break could do a lot worse than Migration - and it would also be fun to watch this just before a big spring break trip. It certainly made me want to fly someplace warm and sunny!