Illumination Has Shared The First Teaser For Its Next Animated Feature ‘Migration,’ Flying Into Theaters This Holiday Season
Illumination has shared the first teaser for its upcoming animated family feature Migration, heading to cinemas on December 22, 2023.
Migration is directed by Benjamin Renner, who was a director of the French features Ernest & Celestine and The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales. The film’s original screenplay was penned by Mike White (School of Rock, The White Lotus) with Illumination boss Chris Meledandri producing.
Migration has been previously described as a modern-day comedy that follows a family of ducks who convince their overprotective father to go on the trip of a lifetime as they head south for the winter from New England, through New York City, and down to the Bahamas.
That’s still about all we know of the film’s plot, but the brief bit of animation in the trailer looks as sharp as one would expect from Illumination, and the jokes and gags all land well enough.
The teaser clocks in at just under two minutes long with the first 60 seconds dedicated to recapping Illumination’s impressive catalog of animated properties. It feels like the studio understands the difficulties of launching a new IP and is leaning harder on its previous films than any virtues of the new one. It’s a clever strategy, especially considering the phenomenal box-office successes of the franchises featured in the first half of the teaser. It may also serve to build greater brand recognition among the general public, many of whom may not even realize that the Despicable Me, Sing, and Secret Life of Pets franchises all come from the same company.
When Migration hits cinemas this holiday season, it will mark the first time since 2016 that Illumination has released two films in the same year (The Secret Life of Pets, Sing) and only the second time in the company’s history. With The Super Mario Bros. Movie looking like a box office behemoth, a strong theatrical run from Migration could further cement Illumination’s position as the most successful U.S. feature animation studio of the past several years.
