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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“Migration’s family-holiday storyline is action-packed, amusing and a little synonymous with the journey many long-haul travellers might make as they travel halfway around the world to discover Solomon Islands’ nearly 1000 stunning islands,” said Solomon Airlines Marketing Manager David Green.

“Solomon Airlines recently launched a direct route from Brisbane to Munda in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands, a tropical paradise akin to the surroundings the movie characters journey towards,” said Mr. Green.

“With the Solomon Islands increasingly internationally recognised as an off-the-beaten-track and untouched leisure destination, we hope to create curiosity about journeying to our own tropical paradise,” he said.

“With our newest A320 joining the fleet, and our Brisbane to Munda direct service re-launched, we could not imagine a better time to partner with Illumination’s Migration to promote the life-changing experience of travel to the tropics” he said.

Solomon Airlines’ newest A320 aircraft, registered H4-SAL, will play a major role in regional promotion of Migration.

Migration will be released in cinemas on Boxing Day, 26 December 2023!
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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.

From a screenplay by Mike White, the Emmy winning creator of The White Lotus and the screenwriter of School of Rock, the film stars a top-flight comedic cast led by Oscar® and Emmy nominee Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick, Eternals) as anxious Mallard dad Mack and Emmy nominee Elizabeth Banks (Hunger Games and Pitch Perfect franchises) as Pam, the Mallards’ daring, quick-witted matriarch.

Caspar Jennings plays Dax, the Mallards’ confident and restless son, and, in her feature film debut, Tresi Gazal plays Gwen, the family’s innocent and lovable daughter.

Golden Globe winner Awkwafina (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) voices the scrappy leader of a New York City pigeon gang; Emmy winner and Oscar® nominee Carol Kane (The Princess Bride) plays Erin the heron, the first friend that the Mallards make on their journey; Emmy winner Keegan-Michael Key (The Super Mario Bros. Movie, The Lion King) voices a homesick Jamaican parrot locked away in a Manhattan restaurant, and BAFTA winner David Mitchell (Peep Show) plays the yogic leader of a mysterious duck farm. Legendary Emmy winner and Oscar® nominee Danny DeVito (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) co-stars as Mack’s curmudgeonly, adventure-averse Uncle Dan.

Directed by Benjamin Renner, the Oscar®-nominated filmmaker of Ernest & Celestine and The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales, Migration is a visual spectacle unlike any in Illumination’s acclaimed history, featuring elevated, expressionist artistry and Illumination’s signature subversive humor and authentic heart, unforgettable characters and joyful soundtrack.

Produced by Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri, Migration is a film about overcoming your fears and opening yourself up to the world and its opportunities. The film is co-directed by Guylo Homsy (Head of Layout and Cinematography for Sing and Sing 2), edited by Christian Gazal (Happy Feet, Peter Rabbit) and the Production Designer is Colin Stimpson (The Secret Life of Pets 2).
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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.

From a screenplay by Mike White, the Emmy winning creator of The White Lotus and the screenwriter of School of Rock, the film stars a top-flight comedic cast led by Oscar® and Emmy nominee Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick, Eternals) as anxious Mallard dad Mack and Emmy nominee Elizabeth Banks (Hunger Games and Pitch Perfect franchises) as Pam, the Mallards’ daring, quick-witted matriarch.

Caspar Jennings plays Dax, the Mallards’ confident and restless son, and, in her feature film debut, Tresi Gazal plays Gwen, the family’s innocent and lovable daughter.

Golden Globe winner Awkwafina (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) voices the scrappy leader of a New York City pigeon gang; Emmy winner and Oscar® nominee Carol Kane (The Princess Bride) plays Erin the heron, the first friend that the Mallards make on their journey; Emmy winner Keegan-Michael Key (The Super Mario Bros. Movie, The Lion King) voices a homesick Jamaican parrot locked away in a Manhattan restaurant, and BAFTA winner David Mitchell (Peep Show) plays the yogic leader of a mysterious duck farm. Legendary Emmy winner and Oscar® nominee Danny DeVito (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) co-stars as Mack’s curmudgeonly, adventure-averse Uncle Dan.

Directed by Benjamin Renner, the Oscar®-nominated filmmaker of Ernest & Celestine and The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales, Migration is a visual spectacle unlike any in Illumination’s acclaimed history, featuring elevated, expressionist artistry and Illumination’s signature subversive humor and authentic heart, unforgettable characters and joyful soundtrack.

Produced by Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri, Migration is a film about overcoming your fears and opening yourself up to the world and its opportunities. The film is co-directed by Guylo Homsy (Head of Layout and Cinematography for Sing and Sing 2), edited by Christian Gazal (Happy Feet, Peter Rabbit) and the Production Designer is Colin Stimpson (The Secret Life of Pets 2).
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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.

From a screenplay by Mike White, the Emmy winning creator of The White Lotus and the screenwriter of School of Rock, the film stars a top-flight comedic cast led by Oscar® and Emmy nominee Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick, Eternals) as anxious Mallard dad Mack and Emmy nominee Elizabeth Banks (Hunger Games and Pitch Perfect franchises) as Pam, the Mallards’ daring, quick-witted matriarch.

Caspar Jennings plays Dax, the Mallards’ confident and restless son, and, in her feature film debut, Tresi Gazal plays Gwen, the family’s innocent and lovable daughter.

Golden Globe winner Awkwafina (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) voices the scrappy leader of a New York City pigeon gang; Emmy winner and Oscar® nominee Carol Kane (The Princess Bride) plays Erin the heron, the first friend that the Mallards make on their journey; Emmy winner Keegan-Michael Key (The Super Mario Bros. Movie, The Lion King) voices a homesick Jamaican parrot locked away in a Manhattan restaurant, and BAFTA winner David Mitchell (Peep Show) plays the yogic leader of a mysterious duck farm. Legendary Emmy winner and Oscar® nominee Danny DeVito (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) co-stars as Mack’s curmudgeonly, adventure-averse Uncle Dan.
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Based ever so loosely on an actual event when drug runners lost a load of the white powder in the hills of Tennessee. This ultimately led to the overdose death of a 79-kilogram American Black Bear after it ingested copious amounts of the drug. In a scenario that could only happen in America, the deceased bear was then stuffed and now resides in a shopping mall in Kentucky.

Director Elizabeth Banks’ has a sure hand on the tiller and uses her extensive knowledge of the comedy realm to entertain with lots of laughs and more than a subtle amount of gore. It’s all crowd-pleasing stuff. She also leaves no Southern stereotype stone unturned and fills the screen with loveable losers and unheralded heroes.

Make no mistake, if you are rooting for the human beings in this picture, you’ve aligned yourself with the losing side. The mighty Cocaine Bear will prevail. If the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ever gets it together to give an Oscar for the best digital on-screen animal, the bear with the white nose should be a shoo-in.
Rob Hudson
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Cocaine Bear stars Keri Russell (The Americans), Emmy winner Margo Martindale (The Americans), Emmy winner Ray Liotta (The Many Saints of Newark), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), Kristofer Hivju (Game of Thrones), Kahyun Kim (American Gods), Christian Convery (Sweet Tooth), Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project) and newcomer Scott Seiss.

Directed by Elizabeth Banks (Charlie’s Angels, Pitch Perfect 2) from a screenplay by Jimmy Warden (The Babysitter: Killer Queen), Cocaine Bear is produced by Oscar® winners Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, The Mitchells vs. The Machines) and Aditya Sood (The Martian) for Lord Miller, by Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman (Pitch Perfect franchise) for Brownstone Productions, and by Brian Duffield (Spontaneous). Robin Fisichella (Ma) will executive produce.
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The underlying message is a positive one (believing in yourself and seeing greatness in everyday moments) but really even if the theme was completely saccharin, who could take that much offense when it is delivered by yellow plastic beings with hooks for hands!

The jokes fly fast and furious while the filmmakers get the mix of adult humor and childlike wonder spot on. There is also the fun of identifying the voice actors. The list includes Morgan Freeman, Jonah Hill, Liam Neeson and Channing Tatum to name just a few.

Few films released this year will be as guaranteed to entertain the entire family as The Lego Movie. Its wild imagination and chock o block approach never lets up and rarely skips a beat. Just a note to end, for families on a budget, you can feel comfortable in skipping the added expense of 3D screenings as the film works just as well in 2D.

Rob Hudson
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The film works hard at establishing Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska as the new angels and their varied ethnic backgrounds make for a refreshing change. The three start as somewhat strangers and time is taken to build their friendship through a plethora of unbelievable scenarios. They get beat up, shot at, blow up, drugged and still have perfect hair.

Recreating predictable harm in various exotic locations from around the globe helps to keep the script alive as its storytelling elements are quite minor. But then it’s not really that kind of movie. Its energy and entertainment value lie in its flashy presentation and absolute modernity.

Charlie’s Angels is a none too serious blast of lady-centric exuberance and seen for what it is, provides 118 minutes of pure escapism. With so many films being made just for the dudes, it’s commendable to have a work like this to help balance things out a bit.

Rob Hudson
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The track, which features co-writing credits from all three of the artists, was recently featured in the film’s trailer and is the lead single from the upcoming Charlie’s Angels (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack). The soundtrack is co-executive produced by Ariana Grande, Savan Kotecha, and Scooter Braun and will be available November 1, 2019 via Republic Records, two weeks prior to the film’s November 14, 2019 release.

Director Elizabeth Banks stated, “It was important to me to kick off Charlie’s Angels with a huge female-powered anthem driven by a big voice – but to get three of the biggest voices out there? It’s a dream come true! What Ariana, Miley and Lana have delivered surpasses even my high expectations. Their song is resonant and meaningful, and it kicks major ass.”

“Don’t Call Me Angel (Charlie’s Angels)” features three of the best voices in music who have joined forces to deliver this undeniably empowering, female-focused collaboration. “Don’t Call Me Angel (Charlie’s Angels)” is written by Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Lana Del Rey, Max Martin, Savan Kotecha, Ilya Salmanzadeh, and Alma-Sofia Miettinen. Producers are Max Martin & ILYA for Max Martin Productions. The song was first teased in the movie’s official worldwide trailer earlier this year to a flood of speculation and excitement amongst media and fans.

Charlie’s Angels will be released in Australian cinemas November 14.
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