![]() These changing methods of storytelling and animation don’t necessarily serve to shift Illumination’s identity as a whole, but rather create a better version of the typical Illumination film. Particularly impressive is the water animation, which ripples and reflects with stunning realism, and the cloud effects, whose full potential is exhibited in a gorgeous scene where puffy airborne vapors are tossed around like snowballs. Cliffs are tanned with the oranges of autumn leaves and the New York cityscape is painted simultaneously with concrete coldness and bustling life. Throughout the rest of the solely CG journey, backgrounds are rendered with a realism that never sacrifices their beauty. The film opens on a gorgeously rendered bedtime story that blends hand-drawn and CG elements. ![]() The quality of the animation also represents an evolution of Illumination's past work. Migration doesn’t take anything for granted – it does the work to ensure an emotional attachment. ![]() Sure, they’re set up as a stereotypical family with a stern dad, a loving mom, and a brash teenage boy with a cute younger sister, but seeing them evolve beyond those stock types is fulfilling. This is well-worn territory, and another element of the story that adds to the formulaic nature of the film, but at least you’re left invested in these charming ducklings. When the flock is thrust into the metropolitan landscape of New York City and they have to fight for their survival for the first time, their untainted perception of the world is challenged. He only sees danger beyond familiar waters, and prioritizes the safety of his young children (Caspar Jennings and Tresi Gazal) over everything. Their motivations for wanting to leave their beautiful, but boring, pond and their desire for adventure are relatable, as is the attitude of the family’s patriarch, Mack (Nanjiani). Though the overall arc of the Mallard family’s wind-guided trip to Jamaica is immediately obvious from the film’s opening seconds, Migration does a good job of building the connections between the ducks, sweetening an otherwise tedious plotline. If this was Migration’s lone goal, then it can be marked down as a success: The possesses a focus on relationships and a warmth that's been glaringly absent from so much of Illumination’s output since the first Despicable Me. If other Illumination movies feel like corporate products, the involvement and creative control of Ernest and Celestine co-director Benjamin Renner promised this one would be different. Often criticized for their cheap gags and stories that play to the broadest possible audience, Illumination makes a bid to shake those labels with the story of a family of ducks – the Mallards, led by Kumail Nanjiani and Elizabeth Banks – keen to leave the familiarity of their pond and see the world. But monetary success only takes you so far, and true respect and acclaim still evade the grasp of the Minion-spawning animation house. ![]() Movie is the second-highest grossing film of 2023. Financially, the studio behind the Despicable Me and Sing franchises is thriving: Its Super Mario Bros. Migration is a sign of change for Illumination.
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