This latest animated comedy (whose box office demise can no doubt be attributed to being pitted against the Disney juggernaut Chicken Little)
tells the story of a lowly wood pigeon named Valiant (played by Ewan
McGregor), who overcomes his small size to become a hero in Great
Britain's Royal Air Force Homing Pigeon Service during World War II.
The
story is of course based on the true fact that the RHPS advanced
the Allied cause by flying vital messages about enemy movements across
the English Channel, whilst evading brutal attacks by the enemy's
Falcon Brigade. In fact over 30 birds had received medals of honour by the end of the war - most of them for bravery. Valiant has a stellar all British cast including Ewan McGregor (who's voice talents also failed in the poorly received CGI film Robots), Ricky Gervais (The Office), Tim Curry (Home Alone 2), Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge), Rik Mayall (The Young Ones),
the always impressive John Cleese as well as natural born Briton Hugh
Laurie (who ditches his fake US accent used in the TV hit House).
Whether this lack of American input had anything to do with the films
Box Office failure (it barely grossed $19 million - over $20 million
shy of it's budget), I personally found it a delight to hear the best
of the best from the UK come together with what was a fantastically
enjoyable film. The CG birds and scenery are superb, full of
colour and amazing detail - while the voice cast do a fantastic job.
Ricky Gervais in particular is a stand out, bringing his own unique
personality to the big screen for the first time - which Office fans will no doubt enjoy - often carrying the comedic weight for the majority of the film. The
story too is fantastic, full of historical accuracy as well as a good
dose of action suspense and drama. As opposed to films like Shrek and Toy Story
which often worked on two levels, this one is aimed squarely at the
littlies. Not that this is a problem, in fact it is a welcome treat
which makes the film all the more enjoyable. It's no Finding Nemo
however, it's a fun film with a bit of history to it - which is a great
way for the youngsters to learn. And despite it's Box Office past,
let's hope that on DVD this little birdy can fly high. EXTRAS
A
great DVD package including the often unseen cast voice recordings.
There are the odd trailers, some rather poor mock "DVD Bloopers" (which
is one thing Monsters Inc. and Toy Story did much better) and a great making of featurette which explains the real life history behind the story. We
also get an insight into how the directors discovered quite quickly
that Gervias' acting skills with material he hadn't written aren't
exactly up to scratch - eventually leading to Gervias' creating alot of
his own dialouge for his character Bugsy.
Conclusion:
Movie 70% Extras: 65%
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