Animation studio Illumination, the creative minds behind the Despicable Me franchise, started their year with a record-shattering smash hit, The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Now, they’re back to close out 2023 and the holiday season with another family-friendly adventure, Migration. We’re not traveling to the Mushroom Kingdom this time, but the journey will be just as exciting and hilarious, especially with a family of ducks leading the way!
Migration follows the Mallard family, Mack (voiced by Kumail Nanjiani) and Pam (Elizabeth Banks), as well as their two kids, Dax (Caspar Jennings) and Gwen (Tresi Gazal). Mack is happy keeping his family safe and sound on a pond in New England, but Pam wants to take the family on vacation to explore the world. With winter on the horizon, they decide to fly from their chilly home to tropical Jamaica, making for a rewarding journey despite their plans quickly going off the rails. The film includes voice talent such as Danny DeVito, Awkwafina, Keegan-Michael Key, and Carol Kane.
Featuring an all-star cast, dazzling animation, and a solid story filled with humor and heart, Migration is shaping up to be yet another Illumination film that you don’t want to miss! Keep reading below to find out where and when you can watch it.
When Does ‘Migration’ Come Out, and Will It Be in Theaters?
Before its commercial debut, Migration premiered earlier this year in October at the annual VIEW conference in Turin, Italy, focusing on animation in cinema and gaming. In the US, Migration is scheduled to debut exclusively in theaters nationwide on Friday, December 22nd, 2023. The film’s official runtime hasn’t been confirmed yet. It has been rated PG.
As mentioned previously, Migration is set to remain solely in theaters for the time being. While a streaming release date hasn’t been announced yet, we can look at a potential release window by comparing it to Illumination’s other film this year, The Super Mario Bros. Movie. It became available for streaming roughly six weeks after its initial theater release date. As both films have the same distributor, Universal Pictures, Migration may follow a similar release pattern. This means it could become available to stream by early February 2024.
While we don’t have a date yet, we can confirm where you can watch Migration once it’s officially streaming. Since 2022, Universal Pictures has been partnered with both Netflix and Peacock to manage the first 18 months of a film’s streaming release schedule. So, as per their deal (once a date is set), Migration will first be available on Peacock for four months. It will then head over to Netflix for the next ten months before returning to Peacock for another four.
Find Showtimes for ‘Migration’
If you would like to find showtimes for Migration at a theater near you, feel free to check out the following links below!
Watch the Trailer for ‘Migration’
The first official trailer for Migration was released on Illumination’s YouTube channel on July 18th, 2023. With a strong focus on our main family of ducks, the trailer does a great job of highlighting their distinct personalities. Mack is overly cautious, while Pam has an adventurous spirit. Siblings Dax and Gwen bicker with one another, but it’s all in good fun. They’re all brave enough to embark on this new family adventure.
We get a good sense of this fish-out-of-water story (or, more rather, duck-out-of-water) as they arrive in New York. It’s their first time in a massive city. The bustling setting provides plenty of laughs from characters like Chump (Awkwafina), a pigeon who spectacularly fails to show the family how safe it is to fly around on the busy streets. Unfortunately, other dangers are lurking around too. The Mallards learn about Duck l’Orange from a parrot named Delroy (Keegan-Michael Key) who is trapped inside a restaurant with a terrifying chef.
New York is just one stop on the family’s way to Jamaica though. It will be exciting to see whether the family’s new friends from the Big Apple will follow them on the road ahead and what other hijinks take place along the way!
More Illumination Movies That You Can Watch Right Now
Since 2010, Illumination has slowly become one of the most recognizable animation studios in the world, delivering hit movies year after year. Before Migration arrives in theaters, check out some of their other incredible films below!
Despicable Me (2010)
.jpg)
Despicable Me follows Gru (Steve Carell), a supervillain who is struggling to compete with the evil schemes of newcomers like Vector (Jason Segel) who stole the Great Pyramid of Giza. Desperate to prove himself again in the villain world, Gru comes up with an ingenious idea to steal the moon. To achieve such an insane feat, he needs to steal a shrink ray first. This leads him to adopt three orphan girls as part of his masterplan, but he soon realizes he might enjoy being their father too.
Watch Despicable Me on Peacock
Sing (2016)
Sing revolves around Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey), a koala who decides to host a singing competition in his rundown theater to save it from closing down. The competition brings together animals from all walks of life to the theater, creating chaos in the lead-up to opening night as Buster tries to keep the show afloat. Some contestants include Rosita (Reese Witherspoon), a pig who gave up her singing dreams to raise a family. There’s also Johnny (Taron Egerton), a gorilla who doesn’t want to follow in his criminal father’s footsteps, and teenage porcupine punk rocker Ash (Scarlett Johansson), just to name a few.
The Grinch (2018)
Based on the popular 1957 Dr. Seuss book, The Grinch (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a grumpy, green creature that lives in a mountain cave above Whoville, with his dog Max. The Grinch hates Christmas (and the Whos in general), so he makes plans to ruin the festive season for everyone in town by stealing their gifts and decorations. During his schemes though, he finally begins to learn why the Whos love Christmas and what the holiday season is all about.
ncG1vNJzZmibn6G5qrDEq2Wcp51kxKmx0Z5ksJmkmLVuucigqZqsmaS7brnOr6CeZw%3D%3D