From the studio that brought us such classics as ‘Despicable Me’, ‘Minions’, ‘The Secret Life of Pets’, ‘Sing’ and ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’, Illumination is now gifting us ‘Migration’ this holiday season, telling the story about a family of ducks embarking on their first adventure.

The film stars Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Caspar Jennings, Tresi Gazal and Danny DeVito just to name a few. In the director’s chair is renowned French cartoonist, animator and filmmaker, Benjamin Renner.

In a New England Forest, lies a pond with a family of ducks consisting of anxious father Mack, adventurous mother Pam, restless son Dax and innocent daughter Gwen. Mack constantly discourages his family to venture beyond the pond they live in, much to the displeasure of Pam.

One day, a flock of migrating ducks arrive in their pond to rest while on their way to Jamaica. While Mack has no interest in their travels, the rest of the family are intrigued to hear about the places outside of their home. A stubborn Mack is content just staying safe in their pond, but the others grow restless and want to see more of the world.

Mack doesn’t understand why his family can’t just be happy like him, but after speaking with his uncle Dan, he second-guesses his own selfish attitude and starts to think that a family adventure would be good for everyone, especially the kids. An inspired Mack gathers the family with a reluctant Dan tagging along, as they take flight on their first adventure as a family, but their journey to Jamaica won’t be as easy as they hoped.

The film’s main focus is on the family dynamic which features a talented voice cast with Kumail Nanjiani as Mack, Elizabeth Banks as Pam, Caspar Jennings as Dax, Tresi Gazal as Gwen and legendary Danny DeVito as Dan, plus some fun cameos by other stars. Kumail Nanjiani does an excellent job portraying Mack as an overly anxious, worried and stubborn, but caring father.

Before their adventure, he only saw things his way and felt it was best to keep his family safe in their pond but he starts to warm up to the idea of seeing the world. Even after experiencing certain events on their adventure that would reassure his previous beliefs, he still continues to lead the family on their way to Jamaica.

Elizabeth Banks as Pam portrays her as a very ambitious and adventurous mother who wants to do more as a family and not be content with living an ordinary life in the pond. Even though she craves adventure, she’s still a caring and protective mother.

Caspar Jennings voices Dax who seems to be entering his teen years and the main reason he wants to go to Jamaica is to catch up with a girl he’s interested in, after meeting her when she arrived at their pond with the other migrating ducks. Tresi Gazal plays Gwen, the youngest in the family who is adorable, but also a little annoying to the family, making her moments some of the funniest in the movie.

Danny DeVito plays a supporting role as Dan, the oldest in the family and has the most non-ambitious and lazy old man personality. The legendary star excels in this role in classic Danny DeVito fashion, providing even more comedic relief. Along the way, the family will meet some diverse and colourful characters such as Delroy, a homesick scarlet macaw from Jamaica voiced by Keegan-Michael Key, Googoo, an American Pekin who is the yogic leader of a duck farm voiced by David Mitchell, Chump, the leader of a pigeon gang in New York City voiced by Awkwafina and Erin, a great blue heron with a wicked personality voiced by legendary actress Carol Kane.

The family’s adventure takes them through various locations and the film does an amazing job of illustrating each place they visit, from their peaceful home in the pond, a creepy swamp, the overwhelmingly large New York City and the tropics of Jamaica. The animation style of Illumination once again does an excellent job of bringing these places to life with so much detail. The same goes for the character designs, giving them so much style and personality, perfectly complimenting the talented voice cast.

Other characters appear, but only the bird characters have spoken dialogue, which is an interesting design choice, especially for the chef the family encounters in his restaurant. The chef serves as the main antagonist who doesn’t have a credited voice actor and doesn’t say a single word throughout the film, other than some grunts. Even without speaking, it’s clear what his intentions are with his cruel and intimidating demeanour.

He specialises in roast ducks and while they do look appetising, they’re presented in a way that shocks the audience especially the family of ducks. He is also determined and relentless in hunting down the ducks and will stop at nothing just to have them in his kitchen. The scenes involving the evil chef are some of the most exciting and intense moments that really puts the family in jeopardy.

As good as the animation quality is, the pacing does feel quite rushed in parts, mainly with going from one location to the next. Obviously travelling from New England to Jamaica is a really long journey and has to be condensed for an almost 90-minute movie, but the film could’ve done a better job of presenting that, rather than feeling like the family goes to each location in a short amount of time.

Many other movies achieved this over the last several decades, even single episodes of a TV show, so it can be done. Pacing is still the biggest weakness of Illumination, but it doesn’t take away anything the movie does really well. Kids are the primary audience for this movie and pacing has never been a problem for them.

Benjamin Renner from France doesn’t actually have that much experience as a director but was hired due to his cartooning and animation background, whose work includes the critically acclaimed Ernest and Celestine. He really made the most of this directing opportunity, as he has a very particular eye for detail which made him a very fitting director for an animated movie.

The film’s soundtrack was made by English composer, John Powell, which features a largely classical tone and has something for every moment in the film. The soundtrack also features a cover of Destiny Child’s ‘Survivor’ performed by Chilean/Mexican musician, Mon Laferte.

Illumination once again brings us an excellent animated family film, full of laughs, heartfelt moments, some adult humour and plenty of excitement. The entire voice cast does a fantastic job in their roles creating that family dynamic that many of us can relate to. There isn’t a dull moment throughout the movie, and it is perfect for the family to go and enjoy this holiday season. Before the movie begins, there is even a bonus short film titled Mooned, where Vector Perkins from the original Despicable Me movie is still trying to escape the moon and get back to Earth. Migration is set to venture out and flock into cinemas worldwide.

Written by: Sammy Hanson