Yes, it is about ducks which do migrate, but no, this is not about “migration.” It’s about a family vacation. Do ducks see it as a vacation? Until they get lost in New York, they do. They seemingly spend the majority of their screen time at New York, admiring roast duck and playing Crossy Road. According to the three trailers out so far, the villain is a chef who cooked the roast duck (mentioned before) and it’s making me wonder, the only way for that chef to be any threat to the ducks is if he tagged our main characters and tries to hunt them down throughout New York just for some free wild duck.
Migration’s official trailer on the Illumination Youtube channel has amassed 19 million views. From the trailer, it featured clean and drawn animation, something rare in the past Illumination features. Instead of fully using 3D, the background is beautifully painted. It’s clear that the animation style received a huge overhaul and now characters are more… cartoony.
The art style reminds me of the Spider-Verse movies, and Migration seems to have taken inspiration from it. It’s absolutely pleasing to look at, which partly reflects the tranquility of their home. No wonder the dad didn’t want to go on a vacation!
I also recommend checking out New York in the trailer compared to Illumination’s other film, the Secret Life of Pets, which also takes place in New York. It’s absolutely phenomenal how vastly different it appears from both films.
Speaking of Illumination’s past movies, it’s worth reviewing them again, and putting them together in a chart to show where Illumination is at. Here’s a chart.
According to the faint trendlines, Illumination is, on average, receiving better reviews and higher box office records (partly due to the last two entries). The movie “Hop” holds the lowest box-office record for an Illumination film, and even that is considered a box office success! Migration probably won’t have the same performance level as an established franchise such as the Rise of Gru or the huge fanbase of Super Mario Bros., but it in itself is a unique film.
The true key factor in Migration’s potential success is competition. Could it stand out in the diverse ocean that is the animation industry? Will it have other movies coming out around the same time to compete with? Migration is the only animation feature to come out this Christmas? Guess it won’t have to compete with other animated feature films then!
Illumination, how well of a job did your marketing department do? Now that I’ve checked you have Nike and University of Oregon teaming up to celebrate the release of Migration, and a passenger airplane is going to be painted into a “flying billboard” to advertise the film? I’ve seen banners of Migration hung up all over Universal Studios in Hollywood and they’re all over the park.
The cast features Elizabeth Banks and Danny DeVito as Pam and Uncle Dan respectively. The director, Benjamin Renner, had directed successful animated films such as “Ernest and Celestine,” which was nominated for an Oscar. It may lack super-star power, but it does have a solid and talented cast and production crew.
The film certainly will attract a broad audience with its family-friendly themes and quirky animation style. Based on the reviews of Illumination’s past films, the critics most likely will not sit well with the film. Unless it’s a huge flop or a success, it will likely sit between the 60% mark that marks the film as “fresh” or “rotten,” like many other Illumination films. With a budget rumored to be around 70-80 million dollars, the film probably will become a box office success and become another victory under Illumination’s name.
