Migration (Blue Sky Studios Version)

Migration is a 2023 American animated adventure comedy film produced by TSG Entertainment, Blue Sky Studios, Lord Miller Productions, and distributed by 20th Century Studios. The film is directed by Benjamin Renner and Chris Wedge, co-directed by Guylo Homsy, and written by Carlos Saldanha and Mike White. It features the voices of Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Keegan-Michael Key, Awkwafina, Caspar Jennings, Tresi Gazal, David Mitchell, Craig Robinson, Carol Kane, Mark Ruffano, Post Malone, and Danny DeVito. The story follows a family of mallards Pam, Dax, and Gwen who try to convince their overprotective father Mack Mallard to go on a vacation of a lifetime and attempt to migrate from New England, through New York City, and to Jamaica to save their best friend who locked away in a Manhattan Reastaurant, Delroy the Parrot.

Blue Sky Studios 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 Wedge sought to focus on a filmmaker's vision for the project in comparison with Illumination's recent films. John Powell composed the score, marking his second collaboration with Blue Sky Studios 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. The Mallard family is in a bit of rut. While dad Mack is content to keep his family safe paddling around their New England pond forever, mom Pam is eager to shake things up and show their kids—teen son Dax and duckling daughter Gwen—the whole wide world. After a migrating duck family alights on their pond with thrilling tales of far-flung places, Pam persuades Mack to embark on a family trip, via New York City, to tropical Jamaica.

As the Mallards make their way south for the winter, their well-laid plans quickly go awry. The experience will inspire them to expand their horizons, open themselves up to new friends and accomplish more than they ever thought possible, while teaching them more about each other—and themselves—than they ever imagined.

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Voice cast

 * Kumail Nanjiani as Mack Mallard, the anxious overprotective father of Dax and Gwen, and the husband of Pam's who is scared to leave the pond.
 * Keegan-Michael Key as Delroy, a homesick Jamaican-accented scarlet parrot who've been been locked away in a Manhattan restaurant and befriend the Mallard family.
 * Elizabeth Banks as Pam Mallard, the daring and quick-witted mother of Dax and Gwen, and the wife of Mack's.
 * Caspar Jennings as Dax Mallard, Mack and Pam's daring, confident, restless and playful teenager son.
 * Tresi Gazal as Gwen Mallard, Mack and Pam's plucky, innocent, cute, adorable, and lovable, but slightly bossy daughter. Dax's sister.
 * Awkwafina as Chump, a wisecracking and quick-tempered pigeon who is the leader of a New York City pigeon gang and befriend the Mallards.
 * David Mitchell as Rick, a white goose who is the yogic leader of a mysterious goose and duck farm.
 * Craig Robinson as Steve, a flamingo who is the leader of the Flamingos and befriend Delroy and the Mallard family.
 * Post Malone as Greg, a white duck who is one of goose gang.
 * Carol Kane as Erin, a friendly heron who is the first friend of the Mallards that befriend her in their journey.
 * McKenna Grace as Lisa Mallard, a teenager mallard who had a crush on Dax. Dax's love interest.
 * Mark Ruffano as the chef of the Manhattan Restaurant who is attempt to capture ducks and turn in Duck A L'Orange.
 * Danny DeVito as Dan, A grumpy, unintelligent, curmudgeonly and adventure-averse uncle of Mack, Pam, Dax and Gwen.

Production[edit]
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. Blue Sky Studios head and film producer Chris Wedge 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, Caspar Jennings, Tresi Gazal, Awkwafina, Danny DeVito, 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[edit]
On June 18, 2023, it was announced that John Powell would compose the film's score, marking his second collaboration with Blue Sky Studios following The Lorax (2012).

Theatrical
Migration’s world premiere took place on October 19, 2023, as the grand summit matinee of the VIEW Conference expo in Turin, Italy. It was initially scheduled for release on June 30, 2023, but was postponed to December 22, with DreamWorks Animation's Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken taking its original release date. On June 14, 2023, Blue Sky Studios gave a special 25-minute preview of Migration at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, with Renner and producer Blue Sky Studios attending the event. A Despicable Me short film, entitled Mooned, will be attached to the film's theatrical release.

Home media
The film would be streaming on Disney+ and Hulu in 2024.