Migration Looks Like Illumination's Take On National Lampoon's Vacation With Ducks [Annecy 2023]

Illumination is one of the best-known animation studios today, and arguably the one with the most baggage. While Disney is king of kids' entertainment, Illumination jumped to the scene not with artistic and emotional movies for young audiences, but with the "Despicable Me" franchise and the Minions becoming a global phenomenon whether we wanted them to be or not.

With the success of those movies, it can be hard to remember that the studio has always made it a point to make original stories (until they become franchises), and a lot of them are great. This is to say that after the humongous success of "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," and in the middle of rumors of a potential "Zelda" movie, Illumination is going back to roots with "Migration," a movie that boasts a script by "School of Rock" scribe and "The White Lotus" creator Mike White, with acclaimed director Benjamin Renner ("Ernest & Celestine") helming the film.

During the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Renner and Illumination founder Chris Meledandri presented the first 25 minutes of the film, which plays out like "National Lampoon's Vacation" but with mallards, and I mean that as the highest compliment. 

Judging by the thunderous laughter and applause by the audience, "Migration" is sure to play well in theaters. Our own Ben Person was impressed by the footage he saw earlier this year, but with a whopping 25 minutes shown at Annecy, there's more to this movie than meets the eye.

We begin with Kumail Nanjiani's Mack, a mallard, telling his kids a bedtime story, a pleasant fairy tale about two young ducklings. Except this is no ordinary tale. Beautifully animated in 2D with bright brushstroke colors, two young ducklings dare venture out beyond their familiar pond, and face the dangers of the world in a cruel and very graphically violent fashion. It's a great scene that shows Renner's 2D skills and Mike White's genre-bending comedy, and one that prepares us for the wacky family dynamic that's to come. 

After the story, we transition to the studio's familiar 3D style, albeit with enough attention to naturalism and expression to stand out from your minions or secret life of pets. Indeed, this may at least be the best-looking Illumination movie, with a keen eye for layouts and lighting. During a presentation on the process of developing the movie, Renner talked about overcoming the challenging transition from working in 2D (where you convey a lot with little) to 3D (where you animate every single thing on the frame). As Renner explained, they used the environment, particularly lighting and fog, in order to reduce the amount of noise in the frame to convey images and ideas simpler and clearer.

Things change for the little family when the kids meet a group of ducks stopping by their pond on their way to Jamaica, and they become enamored with the idea of migrating for the winter (Dad wants nothing to do with it). After some convincing, they all leave. Unfortunately, "all" also includes the weird Uncle Dan (Danny DeVito).

The family dynamic is fantastic, and the highlight of the footage. It is clear Mike White wrote the script with his skills at balancing multiple characters, and at capturing the chaotic energy of kids on full display here. As for the rest of the footage, it is pure "National Lampoon's Vacation" glee, with a wacky adventure that goes immediately wrong. The footage ended with the ducks having to crash at the house of a heron to wait out a storm, with the poor mallards anxious about staying with their natural predator. There's a good balance of comedy and genuine fear in this sequence, and it gives plenty of hope that "Migration" will truly be something special for the house that Gru built.

"Migration," about flying somewhere warm during the winter, is coming to theaters — when else? — December 22, 2023.