No better way to spend a scorching afternoon than lazing about in a cold dark room being entertained by a film engineered to please. From the hipster bad guy who gets what he deserves in the end to a brightly coloured hero with a Rastafarian accent, all the pieces add up to a lot of fun.
With a crowded holiday schedule of films, a movie has to try harder to rise above the rest and getting all the ingredients correct is paramount to that. The production features two directors Benjamin Renner and Guylo Homsy and while their resumes are light on previous full-length works, this is an assured effort.
The story revolves around an overly cautious mallard duck named Mack (Kumail Nanjiani) who has kept his family static due to his fear of the unknown. Said family yearns for adventure and to see a world that extends past the pond they call home. When the season for migration begins, circumstance lead to the family heading south for the winter.
While no new ground is broken story-wise, the appeal is in the faultless execution. The animation is wonderful, as is the character interaction and development. It should appeal to every member of the family (except for those curmudgeons that have it out for animated animals). Consummate craftmanship and a cranked up AC, what’s not to like about that?
Rob Hudson
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