Migration (2023 film)

Migration (2023 film)
Migration is a 2023 American animated adventure comedy film directed by Benjamin Renner, co-directed by Guylo Homsy, and written by Mike White. Produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures, the film features the voices of Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Awkwafina, Keegan-Michael Key, David Mitchell, Carol Kane, Caspar Jennings, Tresi Gazal, 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, and 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 Chris Meledandri sought to focus on a filmmaker's vision for the project in comparison with Illumination's recent films. John Powell will compose the score, marking his second collaboration with Illumination following The Lorax (2012).
Migration premiered at the VIEW Conference in Turin, Italy on October 19, 2023, and is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on December 22.
Premise
Voice cast
Kumail Nanjiani as Mack Mallard, the anxious father of Dax and Gwen
Elizabeth Banks as Pam Mallard, the daring and quick-witted mother of Dax and Gwen
Awkwafina as Chump, the leader of a New York City pigeon gang
Keegan-Michael Key as Delroy, a homesick Jamaican-accented parrot locked away in a Manhattan restaurant
David Mitchell as the yogic leader of a duck farm
Carol Kane as Erin, a heron whom the Mallards befriend in their journey
Caspar Jennings as Dax Mallard, Mack and Pam's confident and restless son
Tresi Gazal as Gwen Mallard, Mack and Pam's innocent and lovable daughter
Danny DeVito as Dan, the curmudgeonly and adventure-averse uncle of Mack and Pam
Production
On February 18, 2022, Illumination announced a new film titled Migration, with French animator and comic book creator Benjamin Renner set to direct with Guylo Homsy as co-director and Mike White set to pen the script. Renner previously directed the traditionally animated films Ernest & Celestine (2012) and The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales... (2017), and was already a household name among the staff of Illumination Studios Paris prior to his involvement with the company. Illumination head and film producer Chris Meledandri hired Renner to direct the studio's first original project since 2016 for his filmmaking sensibility, stating during his visit to the Annecy International Animation Film Festival that there is a "filmmaker attention" for Migration in comparison with Illumination's recent releases up to The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Renner was tasked with adapting his minimalist drawing style from previous films for a computer-animated film, which requires backgrounds to be fully visualized and rendered instead of suggested; he had previously designed the visuals for the 2014 Franco-Belgian computer-animated film about migrating birds titled Yellowbird, which was noted for not strictly adhering to photorealism. For Migration, Renner explained that he took inspiration from naturally expressive animals in the wild in creating characters that have distinctly expressive features in their designs. He also noted that the film's tone would increasingly become more tense as the story progresses.
On April 26, 2023, Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Keegan-Michael Key, Awkwafina, Danny DeVito, Caspar Jennings, Tresi Gazal, David Mitchell, and Carol Kane were announced to be part of the film's lead voice cast, while some of the film crew such as co-director Guylo Homsy, editor Christian Gazal and production designer Colin Stimpson were also revealed.
Music
On June 18, 2023, it was announced that John Powell would compose the film's score, marking his return to Illumination since The Lorax (2012), as well as his 24th animated film score, with the latest being DreamWorks Animation's How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019).
Release
Theatrical
Migration had its official premiere at the VIEW Conference in Turin, Italy on October 19, 2023, and is scheduled to be released in the United States on December 22. It was previously scheduled to be released on June 30, 2023, but was pushed back to its current release date, with DreamWorks Animation's Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken taking its previous date.
On June 14, 2023, Illumination gave a special 25-minute preview of Migration at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, with Renner and producer Chris Meledandri attending the event.
Home media
As part of Universal's deal with Netflix, the film will stream on Peacock for the first four months of the pay-TV window, then will move to Netflix for the next ten, and then will return to Peacock for the remaining four.
References
External links
2023 films
2023 computer-animated films
2020s American animated films
2020s children's adventure films
2020s children's comedy films
2020s children's animated films
2020s English-language films
American computer-animated films
American children's animated adventure films
American children's animated comedy films
Animal adventure films
Animated films about ducks
Fictional Columbidae
Fictional parrots
Films about vacationing
Animated films set in New England
Animated films set in New York (state)
Animated films set in New York City
Films set in Jamaica
Films produced by Chris Meledandri
Films with screenplays by Mike White (filmmaker)
Films scored by John Powell
Universal Pictures films
Universal Pictures animated films
Illumination (company) animated films