Elizabeth Banks and Kumail Nanjiani lend their voices to Illumination’s latest animated comedy Migration, the story of a duck family who break out of their everyday lives and take off to Jamaica. The new trailer shows the Mallard family setting out on an incredible adventure and encountering a steady stream of wacky problems.
The voice cast also includes Caspar Jennings, Tresi Gazal, Awkwafina, Keegan-Michael Key, David Mitchell, Carol Kane, and Danny DeVito. Emmy winner Mike White (The White Lotus) wrote the screenplay, with Oscar nominee Benjamin Renner (Ernest & Celestine) directing and Guylo Homsy (Head of Layout and Cinematography for Sing and Sing 2) co-directing.
Illumination offered this plot description:
“This holiday season, Illumination, creators of the blockbuster Minions, Despicable Me, Sing, and The Secret Life of Pets comedies, invites you to take flight into the thrill of the unknown with a funny, feathered family vacation like no other in the action-packed new original comedy, Migration.
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.”
The Characters:
- Oscar and Emmy nominee Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick, Eternals) plays anxious Mallard dad Mack.
- Elizabeth Banks (Cocaine Bear) is Pam, the Mallards’ daring, quick-witted matriarch.
- Caspar Jennings plays Dax, the Mallards’ confident and restless son.
- 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) voices a homesick Jamaican parrot locked away in a Manhattan restaurant.
- BAFTA winner David Mitchell (Peep Show) plays the yogic leader of a mysterious duck farm.
- Emmy winner and Oscar nominee Danny DeVito (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) co-stars as Mack’s curmudgeonly, adventure-averse Uncle Dan.
Migration flies into theaters on December 23, 2023.
