I had meant to write this review when I saw the film on December 22nd, but the holidays are often not the kindest thing when it comes to looking for time. In addition, my feelings on the film weren’t strongly negative or positive as is the case when I often watch Illumination Films. By this point, we know exactly what we are getting. Truth be told, something kept eating at me about the film and that it did have a touch of charm that went beyond it’s Secret Life/Super Mario/Grinch and of course Despicable Me type writing. Push came to shove, and I found that little nugget of time to produce this review. Besides, the film is having a rather mild box office at the moment and if I can convince a few random people to go see it, then it’s worth a few words. Let’s take a look.
Naturally, before we even get to the actual film, we need to have a short. This one, named Mooned involves the beloved Despicable Me villain known as Vector (voiced by Jason Segel) who after the events of the very first movie finds himself marooned on the Moon. He then has to figure out a way to get off this desolate location. This would all be too easy for someone as talented as Vector if it weren’t for Bob (voiced by Pierre Coffin) the minion who drank the anti-gravity serum and also found his way to the moon. What we get is a series of hi-jinx moments where Vector tries to get off the moon but is thwarted accidentally by some minion tom-foolery. Pretty good short, and while it did not break any new ground, it was very awesome to see Vector back. Somehow, I think this is the pathway to getting Vector into Despicable Me 4 which comes out this summer. I hope I’m not wrong (even though I know I will be dragged to the movie regardless).
We open the actual movie to a bedtime story told by Mack Mallard (voiced by Kumail Nanjiani) to his kids, Dax (voiced by Caspar Jennings) and Gwen (voiced by Tresi Gazal). Basically, it’s a story where little ducks travel outside of their home and run into other animals that will hurt, torture and otherwise eat the ducklings. The message here? Don’t migrate. Of course, this does no favors with Mack’s wife, Pam (voiced by Elizabeth Banks) who wants to travel and see the world as it were. She has no desire to stay, practically chained to their homestead at Moosehead Pond.
Dax would also like to travel and one day encounters another family of ducks who are migrating to Jamaica (the country, not the city in New York). In particular, he gets wooed by Kim (voiced by Isabela Merced) who is the daughter and very much would like to travel with her. But Mack has no interest, because safety is staying at home. Pam does her best to encourage Mack to change his mind but is not able to do so.
Later that night, Mack gets visited by by Uncle Dan (voiced by Danny DeVito) who tells him that he is making the right decision and staying at home. The world is indeed full of scary creatures that would like nothing more than to capture and eat the ducks. Besides this way, Mack can end up just like Uncle Dan if he stays the course and there is nothing wrong with that. Mack thinks about it briefly that night and in the next morning, guess what, the Mallard family is going to Jamaica. Looks like Uncle Dan is coming along too.
Not the best with directions, the crew actually end up going north rather than south. They run into a rainstorm and take cover in a swamp where two herons call home (which Mack had used in his bedtime story). From the get-go the family is very scared of Erin (voiced by Carol Kane) and Harry, who are wife and husband. However, on this occasion, the herons have nothing but good intentions and actually save the family from a mean catfish.
From there, the Mallards make their way to New York City. As expected, this leads to all sorts of trouble starting with Uncle Dan getting into it with a local pigeon crew over a submarine sandwich. However Pam is able to befriend Chump, (voiced by Awkwafina) their leader. Chump helps get the Mallards back on their path to Jamaica (the country, not the city) and knows a native macaw named Delroy (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key) who knows how to get there. There is only one problem, Delroy is locked up in a cage at a famous restaurant in Manhattan. We are soon introduced to the lead chef (voiced by Jason Marin) whose specialty is Duck a L’Orange. Things are going to get a little saucy. Can the family stay uncooked or is this adventure going to go south in a hurry? (Can I stop using puns? Probably not.)
The first thing to mention about this film is the brilliant voice cast. Many times with these animated films, I feel like they are going for the name (see any Chris Pratt movie) rather than a well-suited voice. This is certainly not the case here. Everyone fits right in and lends a critical element to the production and not “star power” (though certainly there are some pretty heavy names here). Heck, anytime we can get Carol Kane, Danny Devito and Keegan-Michael Key in an animated film is a good time to me.
The story is also very wholesome, it’s not an intricate plot and is not watered down with random events that don’t lead anywhere. It’s short runtime (83 minutes) also makes it a hit with parents and young kids. The movie was three quarters over before we even got our popcorn (which is another story for another day). The film will also resonate a lot with families in its central themes. It certainly did with mine.
For those who don’t know my personal history, I was actually born in Jamaica (the city, not the country) and the film actually makes the same joke as well which was pretty darn hilarious in my book (since I can’t think of a film that has done that before). Furthermore, this hit a little close to home as I’m very much Mack Mallard, I’m pretty tied to my job and if there is not a movie theater or blu-ray store attached to my travels, I’m not interested in going anywhere. Apologies to my wife and son as well since it takes an act of congress to get me anywhere outside of the Houston metro area.
But on the same side of the coin, the movie was very subdued at times. Yes there are funny moments, yes there are moments of peril. But the film is rather pedestrian. The Chef is not a particularly memorable villain outside of his voice perhaps. The son, Dax is more heroic than the father and well in typical films these day, Pam is doing most of the heavy lifting when it comes to the best moments. I think the film also missed a moment with the final scenes. It was a perfect pathway for a sequel and they pretty much capped it off right there. I don’t think it will get a sequel but it doesn’t hurt to leave the door cracked open a bit.
As mentioned at the start of this review, this film’s box office hasn’t been very good. Through about 10 days, it has made a little short of $60 million domestically and another $45 million internationally. Reportedly, it had a budget of $72 million, which means at least at this point it has not made it’s money back. I only saw the trailers a couple of times for it leading up to the release and there have been virtually no toys I’m aware of except apparently there is some stuff at McDonalds and a few plushies. It is certainly not a bad movie, it is rather likeable and not littered with social messages (perhaps don’t eat ducks but that’s honestly it). It’s safe, much like Mack Mallard. I do recommend the film to those families who have had their fill of Wonka and are looking for something else to hold them over until Kung Fu Panda 4, The Garfield Movie (more Chris Pratt) and the next Despicable Me jump onto the screen. Enjoy.
| Overall: |  (7 / 10) |
