Free Birds (2013)
Certified: U
Duration: 91 minutes
Directed by: Jimmy Hayward
Voices of: Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Amy Poehler, Dan Fogler, Lesley Nicol, George Takei, Colm Meaney, Keith David, Jimmy Hayward, Carlos Alazraqui, Danny Carey
KRS release
Thanksgiving is not a particularly happy time for turkeys.
Reggie (Owen Wilson) is different from other turkeys and tries to convince his feathered friends that all the food they are getting serves only one purpose: to fatten them up to be good for dinner.
In a touch of luck, he is spared death as part of a White House tradition where the US President saves one turkey from being stuffed. This leads to him living a comfortable life in Camp David as the pet of the daughter of the commander in chief, eating pizza and watching TV. However, his life takes a turn when wild turkey Jake (Woody Harrelson) enters the scene.
Jake tells him that the government has a time machine called Steve (George Takei) which could be the means to save turkey-dom from the annual extermination.
The film romps around as a comedy and, at times, even drama
All they need to do is go back in time and make sure that turkey does not end up on the first Thanksgiving menu.
When they time-travel, they meet Chief Broadbeak (Keith David), a smart turkey; Ranger (Jimmy Hayward), his military-style son; and Jenny (Amy Poehler), the chief’s daughter. They are the focus of Captain Myles Standish (Colm Meaney) and his troops who are foraging for food as the settlers are going hungry. The very untrustworthy Governor Bradford (Dan Fogler) knows the food stockpile is not ideal and he wants more food. For the turkeys, this spells trouble.
Free Birds marks the first film to be released in theatres for Reel FX Creative Studio that have up till now worked mostly in videogame production and television animation. They follow the style of Blue Sky who made the very successful Ice Age movies, that is, they deliver a combination of madcap storytelling and colourful animation.
Director Jimmy Hayward had worked as an animator on such movies as Toy Story (1995) and Finding Nemo (2003). As a director, he delivered the colourful hit Horton Hears a Who! (2008) and the live action film Jonah Hex (2010).
The film moves and turns in the same manner as such animated hits as Chicken Little (2005) and Chicken Run (2000), in the sense that it elicits sympathy for creatures that usually end up on the dinner table. The Thanksgiving holiday is essentially an American and Canadian thing; for the rest of the world, this bird is mostly associated with Christmas lunch or dinner.
The story is kept simple and clean throughout the movie. The jokes and colourful animation are aimed squarely at young children. The picture is replete with all oddball characterisations, and the turkeys are over the top and loony. Wilson’s characterisation is in pure Californian beach-bum style, while Harrelson’s is simply hilarious.
The film romps around as a comedy and, at times, even drama. At one point it goes on to explode almost into Braveheart mode!
Free Birds will surely keep the children entertained during the Christmas holidays.