Free Birds
Free Birds feels like the result of a meeting among studio executives, who just threw together every idea they could imagine.
Freed Birdstells the unusual tale of Reggie ( Owen Wilson ) , an unusually smart dud whose attempts to get the other doll of his heap to realise the horrifying truth - their Fannie Merritt Farmer master is fattening them all up for Thanksgiving dinner - fall upon indifferent ears . One day , Reggie finds himself " pardon " from his Thanksgiving responsibilities by the President of the United States ; thereafter , our domestic fowl submarine gets to spend his day at Camp David , watching Spanish soap operas and eating Chuck E. Cheese ’s pizza pie .
Then , without word of advice , Jake ( Woody Harrelson ) - a peculiar joker who prides himself on his finely - grave … turkey glute - drag in Reggie away from his comfy and sedate newfound lifestyle , so that the distich can accomplish theirtruedestiny : to travel back in prison term to the original Thanksgiving and get turkey off the holiday bill of fare for serious .
Directed by Jimmy Hayward ( Horton Hears a Who!,Jonah Hex ) and co - compose by Hayward and Scott Mosier - from a screen story credit to David I. Stern ( Open Season 2 & 3 ) and John J. Strauss ( The Santa Clause 2 & 3 ) - it goes without say thatFree Birdseasily ranks among the most idiosyncratic and utterly singular movies released this year . While the 3D animated feature can be magic every so often ( and goes by fairly quickly ) , it generally neglect at being impulsive family - friendly entertainment ; instead , it ’s mostly just derisory and flat .
Hayward sure enough makes a number of confutable creative option that perimeter on ( orare ) offensive - be it how turkey from the seventeenth century attire like Native American stereotypes or a hunt down joke that need a " special " Republic of Turkey ( who is part the offspring of a chicken ) . However , the politically - incorrect elements are finally just another ground whyFree Birdswill leave grown - up motion-picture fan scratching their head , as they try and figure out on the button what kind of Kool - Aid the filmmakers were drink . Meanwhile , minor moviegoers will just appreciate all the turkey - base gags and physical comedy ( nothing more or less ) .
Free Birdsmay be a hodgepodge work - in terms of themes and satire - but on the surface , the story and characters are mostly just boring and conventional . Anyone remotely familiar with metre - travelling story figure will reckon out the third act twists within the first 10 - 20 minutes ( notan exaggeration ) ; the same holds genuine for the various role arcs and relationships . Sadly , the movie has neither the nitty-gritty nor the necessary arc of artistic madness , to make up for the perfunctory story plan .
What savesFree Birdsfrom being a total waste are its cast members , who infuse their animated twin with far more life than the gristly and B - gradation Pixar character spiritedness deserves . Wilson fetch his customary laid - back delivery stylus to the uninteresting role of Reggie ( take it or leave it ) ; meanwhile , Harrelson harness his lines with enough wispy - witted exuberance to make his character work . Indeed , one of the film ’s good elements is the militant bro - mance between Jack and the son of turkey Chief Broadbeak ( Keith David , who never fails to play some lordliness to even the silly of vocalism - acting persona ) .
As for the residue of the supporting stamp : Amy Poehler fetch her common , but welcome pluck and personal appeal as Jenny , the kind and levelheaded Meleagris gallopavo gallon who Reggie falls for ( despite a gimpy running joke that involves her eye becoming misalign under stress ) . Lastly , Hayward does a well occupation of voicing multiple players - he have an " extra voice natural endowment " credit for his efforts - and making each one unique , if only for a couple of lines . And , of track , we can not forget the time automobile - who last by the acronym S.T.E.V.E. - as voiced by George Takei ; and yes , he does finally get to saythatcatchphrase .
IsFree Birdssolid kid - friendly entertainment ? No . Is is worth pay the additional ticket surcharge to see in three-D ? Not really . At the last of the day , Free Birdsfeels like the resultant role of a merging among studio executives , who just threw together every idea they could conceive of ; that is , while attempt to create a Thanksgiving movie that would be an easy sell ( or $ ell ) to families . The final result is a mess , for trusted , but it could ’ve been much worse ( high praise , I know ) .
In casing you ’re still unresolved , here is the trailer forFree Birds :
Reggie (Owen Wilson) and Jake (Woody Harrelson) in ‘Free Birds’
Free Birdsis now playing in 2D and 3D theater in the U.S. It is 91 minutes long and Rated PG for some action / peril and bounderish humor .
Free Birds is a 2013 invigorate film direct by Jimmy Hayward . It features two turkey , voiced by Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson , who time travel to the first Thanksgiving for change the traditional holiday card . The plastic film combines elements of adventure and comedy , as the turkey purpose to vary account to spare their variety from being the independent class .
Reggie (Owen Wilson) and Jenny (Amy Poehler) in ‘Free Birds’
