Migration, directed by Benjamin Renner & written by The White Lotus creator Mike White, follows a family of mallards who migrate from New England to Jamaica. If you were to look up the synopsis anywhere else, it tries to make it far more complicated than what it really is. The film really takes off when the serious father of a mallard family is convinced to take his family on a trip to Jamaica, and that’s about it. There’s really no inciting incident or emotional pull to make us attached to the characters; however, the animation and humor makes up for where the film lacks. I was invited to see this an early screening a week in advance. Initially, I wasn’t going to go, but decided to go for it due to scheduling conflicts and I am glad I did. Overall, I’d say that Migration hit the marks for what Illumination is known for, even if it plays it too safe.

I have been a fan of Illumination’s work since I saw Despicable Me. I even loved the first two entries of that franchise so much so that it rejuvenated my passion for animation moves. With its established humor, it showed that their films could gear towards both kids and adults. Even as an adult, it’s still nice to not take things seriously. Since Minions, I haven’t felt the same way, but I have remained faithful that they can put quality over quantity. Unfortunately, that is something that I feel with this film and I will get this out of the way first before getting into my positives. I was quite surprised to learn that this was going to be released during Christmas instead of Thanksgiving considering the film follows a family of ducks. After watching the film and especially enduring the small duration, it does feel like the film was more of a corporate mandate than a unique passion project. While it doesn’t do much to set itself apart from other animated movies that did it far better, there’s enough positive to make it worth watching, so I will lead into the positives next before I capitalize on the negatives.

One thing that Illumination does so well is the animation. As gorgeous as the images look, there is never a moment where it never lacks. The humor is also quite on point that reminded me of Illumination’s earlier work. Even if I didn’t always laugh during the comedic moments, I still found myself smiling. The audience I saw it with also clearly was having a good time between the action & humor. Lastly, the cast truly is impressive. You’ve got Kumail Nanjiani in the lead role eating up every piece of dialogue. You can tell he’s having a good time. Elizabeth Banks, Awkwafina, Keegan-Michael Key, and Danny DeVito round out the rest of the cast and are clearly all having a good time.

Back to what I said about this feeling like a corporate mandate, the film is only 82 minutes long. I noticed this weeks before going in, which I found to be bizarre. Shortly beforehand, I noticed the runtime was just a little over 90 minutes. The film starts off with an odd animated Despicable Me short based off the first movie. The short is poorly edited and is only placed there to beef up the overall runtime. Yes, Disney has done the same thing, but the concept here feels lazy. With the fourth entry coming out soon, you’d think they’d do something to get you excited for that entry. When you take the actual runtime into consideration, there is a lot more that could have done.

For one, the film gets you right into the family dynamic that you follow for the rest of the film. Mack, played by Nanjiani, is an anxious father who tells his kids a scary story all in the hopes to get his family to stay home and build a life there. It’s not until when Pam, played by Banks, convinces Mack to migrate to Jamaica for the winter that he changes his mind about migrating. The only things that are pushing him to do this is another family saying that they are going there, his kids being disappointed, and his Uncle Dan, played by DeVito. That’s it. There’s nothing emotionally compelling to make these characters unique enough to follow. It’s just sort of mindless. I know it’s a stretch, but it feels like if Disney did this, it would have been something similar to The Lion King. I am not saying to make it exactly like that, but when you take out the importance of these character’s journey, it’s only really going to gravitate to families who need to convince the father to go on that trip they keep begging him for. In this state of the economy, it is a bit of a crazy message.

As much as I like the voice talent, it does come across as a cash grab. Aside form the family, every other person barely has a presence, including DeVito. I even noticed that there were moments where DeVito’s character awkwardly doesn’t anything, even though the film presents his character as a loud mouth in the beginning. I thought there was a missed opportunity to make his character the father and serve as the reasoning behind Mack’s anxiety. Instead, not only do they opt out of that, but it becomes abundantly clear that DeVito became the uncle to keep him as an non-important character due to his schedule. Then there is the awkward way how none of the humans talk. I get it, but it’s done very awkwardly. I would say the film feels placed here to heighten Illumination’s resume. Aside from The Super Mario Bros. Movie, I am convinced that this was only made to keep original productions, and eventual franchises, coming out on an annual basis.

Overall, Migration gets the job done. Where it lacks in emotion & in length, it makes up for in animation and humor. My theater had a great time and even clapped as the credits rolled. I wouldn’t recommend going to see this over others this holiday season, but I think you’ll still have a good time if you do go see it. Families certainly won’t regret it.

VERDICT: Good