Review: Recognizably human for a duck tale, ‘Migration’ flies from studio fare, but not too far

For those familiar with their animation studios, Illumination immediately brings to mind the flood of yapping yellow pills known as the Minions. Its new “Migration” flaps away from those movies, thanks to its director and its occasionally painterly look, but can’t completely slip those bonds.

The story, written by “The White Lotus’” Mike White, concerns a duck family that has never left its home pond due to the overprotective fears of dad Mack (voiced by Kumail Nanjiani). Mom Pam (Elizabeth Banks) is more sympathetic to the kids’ desire to go south for the winter, as is Mack’s uncle Dan (Danny DeVito). There’s no movie if Mack doesn’t have a change of heart, so he does and they go, and there are lessons learned and adventures along the way. That’s pretty much the whole movie.

Fortunately, though, while the broad strokes can be seen from outer space, “Migration” doesn’t always feel like what we expect from shiny wide-release products. There is plenty of loud scoring and slapstick in the many chase sequences. But it’s nowhere near the frenetic assault on the senses of, say, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.”

Where many animated productions sport a plastic sheen, “Migration’s” textured look conveys a less-manufactured touch. There are lovely vistas taken in from the air. The hue palette is more muted than the usual candy-colored explosions. The light feels gentler with mellower shadows. We’re often in the magic hours of dusk or dawn. In the distance, the haze blurs to an almost watercolor effect.

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That’s likely due to French director Benjamin Renner, who has made some of the lovelier animated features of the last decade or so, including the warm-hearted Oscar nominee “Ernest & Celestine” (2012) and “The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales ...,” one of the funniest movies of 2017. Those hand-drawn films have a personal feeling that swings from smirk to hug. Renner takes to a larger moviemaking scale like a duck to water: “Migration’s” mélange tastes accessible enough, but his ingredients give it a soupçon of distinctive flavor.

In fact, the film’s most memorable sequence, a terrifying night in the company of two ancient herons (one voiced by the extremely welcome Carol Kane), comes from Renner’s personal experience. It and the extended pursuit by the Big Bad — a hipster chef with impressive resources — convey peril unusually persuasive for the genre (parents of little ones take note). “Migration” also has one of the year’s funniest animated scenes from a movie not called “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” a Looney Tunes-inspired gag with a pigeon that couldn’t be better timed.

Fowl butt heads in “Migration,” directed by Benjamin Renner.

(Illumination Entertainment & Universal Pictures)

The voice cast is deep and talented, led by the always-sharp Banks and Nanjiani. Daughter duckling Gwen, performed by newcomer Tresi Gazal, is cute. Awkwafina‘s rasp is made for animation, as her New York-tough pigeon boss demonstrates. Kane is just perfect as the heron hostess.

“Migration” isn’t exactly unique, but it’s different enough. And in today’s factory filmmaking, that’s almost as unlikely as milking a duck.