Migration (2023)

October 19, 2023 (VIEW Conference)December 22, 2023 (United States)

October 19, 2023 (VIEW Conference)
December 22, 2023 (United States)

Migration is a 2023 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures. 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. It stars the voices of Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Keegan-Michael Key, Awkwafina, and Danny DeVito. The story follows a family of mallards who try to convince their overprotective father to go on a vacation of a lifetime and attempt to migrate from New England, through New York City, to Jamaica.

Illumination announced Migration in February 2022, with Renner, Homsy, and White attached as director, co-director, and writer, respectively. Renner, who had previously helmed traditionally animated films, was tasked with adapting his simple drawing style for a computer-animated film. In hiring Renner, studio head and producer Meledandri sought to focus on a filmmaker's vision for the project in comparison with Illumination's recent films. John Powell composed the score, marking his second collaboration with Illumination following The Lorax.

Migration premiered at the VIEW Conference in Turin, Italy on October 19, 2023, and was theatrically released in the United States on December 22, 2023. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and has grossed over $118 million worldwide.

Storyline

In a New England forest, anxious Mack Mallard discourages his kids Dax and Gwen from venturing beyond the pond, to the displeasure of his wife Pam. One day, the pond is visited by a flock of ducks migrating south to Jamaica, which the family finds interesting, but Mack has no such interest. Pam tells Mack that he must open his eyes to the world. That night, Mack talks with his uncle Dan, who also does not want to leave the pond, but his loneliness makes Mack re-evaluate his stance and he decides to let his family migrate, with Uncle Dan joining them at Gwen's behest.

During a rainstorm, they shelter in a swamp underneath a boardwalk where they encounter elderly heron lady Erin, who invites them to spend the night with her and her husband Harry in their shack. Despite the herons' frightening countenance, Erin proves their good intentions by saving Dax and Gwen from a catfish.

The next day, the Mallards arrive in New York City where Uncle Dan gets them in trouble with a flock of pigeons led by the pugnacious Chump. Pam defuses the situation and Chump introduces them to her friend Delroy, a scarlet macaw from Jamaica who lives caged by a human chef that kidnapped him. Mack and Pam infiltrate the restaurant where the chef works to acquire the key to his cage and free Delroy, who will guide them to Jamaica in return.

While Gwen stops for a bathroom break, Mack finds an entrance to a paradise full of pekins. The group begins to enjoy themselves but Dax discovers it is a duck farm, with the chef from earlier one of its clients. Mack tells Dax to go back to Pam, but he instead alerts the pekins. He loses his wing feathers being stepped on by the chef, rendering him flightless, and his family, Delroy and the pekins escape the farm. The birds stop to rest at a motel where Mack chastises Dax for his reckless actions.

Later when the sun sets, the chef finds the birds via helicopter and captures them in a net, minus Dax and Gwen who manage to hide. Inside, the chef plans to kill Mack and Pam first as revenge. Shifting their cage using a salsa dance they did at the restaurant, Mack and Pam try to reach a button to open a trapdoor but the chef catches them in the act. Delroy, assisted by Uncle Dan and the pekins, pelts the chef with fruit and vegetables until he is knocked unconscious, hitting the trapdoor button as the birds fall out. The chef is caught in the cargo net, but Mack and Pam continue to fall, due to being stuck in their cage. They are saved and freed by their kids; Dax fixed his wings with some of the other birds' scattered feathers when the chef kidnapped the birds. Both father and son silently reconcile.

Now led by Dax, the birds arrive in Jamaica, where Delroy reunites with his family and friends and the Mallards catch up with the duck family who visited the pond earlier. The following spring, the Mallards meet a group of penguins, whom they agree to help get to the South Pole.

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