bazdruker The idea was brilliant, almost inspired, but it turned into very much of a lame duck (no pun intended) on screen. The Dickin award was and is a sort of animals VC or George Cross. In World War II (when this film is set), homing pigeons more or less cleaned up with 32 out of 54 awarded for displaying conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty whilst serving with British Commonwealth armed forces or civil emergency services (according to Wikipedia). Now back to the movie. The trouble is that it never really managed to run (or fly) very far with the original immaculate conception. I thought that it pretty much found its level by catering for eight year-olds (of all ages) by copious amounts of burping and farting from the birdie characters, which was more or less the high point of the action. The plot (if you can call it that) was thinner than the wafer on your interval ice-cream, with the eponymous Valiant (voiced by Ewan McGregor), wanting to be a hero in the Royal Air Force Homing Pigeon Service, which flew messages about enemy movements across the English Channel. Although it may represent a (forgotten) slice of wartime history, it fails miserably to impress at the comedic level, except unintentionally: "We have ways of making you squawk" is possibly one of the worst lines ever in movie history (and I've sat through a few, I can tell you). There are possible compensations though. Here, I'm thinking of the richest array of vocal talents never to have shown their faces on screen, probably making it one of the most expensive British voiced-over films ever. You name them and there they are. Everyone from John Cleese and Hugh Laurie to John Hurt and Rik Mayall. But then these voices are so distinctive, the problem I had was in attempting to dissociate the cartoon from his real life comedy persona. Moreover, this wasn't helped by the writers apparently trying to recreate their sitcom characters by cunning use of dialogue(certainly with the Ricky Gervais character, who sounded more like David Brent out of "The Office" than David Brent out of "The Office"). In fact, it was so predictable at times, they may just as well have got Rory Bremner to do all the voices. (Perhaps they did - that would account for Hugh Laurie coming across more like his Blackadder character than Hugh Laurie doing his Blackadder character.)So my advice to you is not to inflict this film on yourself unless you're with (or you are) an eight year-old (of any age) desperate to spend an hour and a half out of the rain. Of course, I could be wrong and possibly this film made a lot of money at the box office. In which case I can only think that the movie-going public were shat on by the film makers from a great height. Final verdict: Bird's Custard.

Arlis I have to admit that Disney cartoons have always been my least favorite and although they have a few that are really good, most are a bit boring.My problem with Disney was that their animation was dull to me. Some of them like Snow White and actually most of the pre 1980 animated classics were nicely animated but then they seemed to get dull and boring.Even though I am not the biggest fan of Disney it still bothered me to learn they had shut down the animation department a while back. I think that was crazy and they will eventually bring it back.Computer animated movies have taken over the last few years and although I dislike CGI in live action films, I do love it in cartoons. Movies like TOY STORY and HOODWINKED are very fun to watch, very crisp and neat.I thought this movie was beautifully pieced together, but it lacked story and excitement. The characters left much to be desired and its no wonder why I left a vote of 5 and so did almost everyone else who has rated this movie. It is a middle of the road average movie. It will shut the kids up, but keep the adults and older lads bored out of their mind.I will never watch the DVD again and I would not recommend it to anyone. There is a lot more out there to watch so don't waste your time with this.One positive note, The vocal talents were great, especially Ewan McGreggor and John Clease.

jediwebdude My entire family enjoyed this brilliant and humorous movie, which offered a heart-warming component. The story line is captivating from the very beginning and retains full attention throughout. Bird-themed humor is consistently intertwined. Animation is first rate, as are the action scenes. The voice over actors and actresses are convincing and funny. The story wasn't entirely predictable, especially the latter half. Predictability seems to be a problem with many of the CGI animations produced recently. Interestingly unprecedented in CGI animations is the underlying historical element presented in this genius flick: the role of messenger pigeons in World War II.

Keetoo Alright, we all know this was a cartoon and not a movie, but this was based on real history making birds that got awarded for being depended on when needed in the throngs of World War Two. At the end of this fine cartoon they acknowledged that not only the pigeons, but dogs and a cat had been awarded medals in helping win the war effort. Have there been any movies made in the past to tell these stories? I can't remember. If anyone could though it should be Disney, they seem to have the wonderful sensitivity to do stories like that. This is stuff that should always be brought up to the forefront to let future generations know the great ingenuity of past generations. What's wrong with that? Keep the past remembered! Honor those who deserved it. Make more movies, yes - even cartoons, like this. Bravo!