Free Birds

"Do you know what "hypothetically" means?"

"No, but I can imagine a scenario where I might."

Reggie (Wilson) is pardoned by the President of the United States (Hayward) for Thanksgiving.  As the pardoned turkey, he lives a life of luxury, until he is kidnapped by Jake (Harrelson).  Jake received a mission from The Great Turkey to find Reggie and save all turkeys.  They break into a top secret government facility and take the time machine.  The time machine is controlled by an AI called S.T.E.V.E. (Takei), who takes them back in time to a few days before the first Thanksgiving.

The wild turkeys are led by Chief Broadbeak (David).  They are being hunted by Myles Standish (Meaney) and other colonists, to serves as the main course at their meal with the native tribe.  The turkeys are highly intelligent and their scouts, led by the Chief's son Ranger (Hayward), have a plan to stay alive and stay one step ahead of the hunters.  Reggie is captivated by the Chief's fearkess daughter, Jenny (Poehler).  Reggie and Jake join the flock and concoct a plan to save their friends and all future turkeys.  But the settlers have plans of their own; who will win the battle for the first Thanksgiving?


I watched this film on Thanksgiving morning.  As the aroma of turkey filled the air, I laughed at the antics on the screen.  It isn't a great animated film, but it does have it's moments... and I appreciate that there is finally another animated Thanksgiving film.

Owen Wilson has previous experience as a voice actor, starring in Pixar's Cars franchise as Lightning McQueen.  He brings the same charm to this role.  He is matched by the excitement of Woody Harrelson.  Harrelson always brings a unique perspective to his characters, and Jake is not exception.  Amy Poehler is an excellent comedian and her voice really lends itself well to the character and to animation in general.  George Takei brings a solid dose of sarcasm to S.T.E.V.E.  The voice cast is perfect.

The story is not great... it has good moments, but it looses track a few times.  It is funny, but definitely won't appeal to everyone.

Free Birds (2013) 91 minutes
Director: Jimmy Hayward
Starring: Owen Wilson as Reggie
Woody Harrelson as Jake
Amy Poehler as Jenny
Dan Fogler as Governor Bradford
George Takei as S.T.E.V.E.
Colm Meaney as Myles Standish
Keith David as Chief Broadbeak
Jimmy Hayward as Ranger; President of the United States