"Valiant" follows a small in stature but large in heart pigeon named Valiant (“Ewan McGregor). He may be a little guy but he has big dreams. Valiant wants to join the elite Royal Homing Pigeon Service (RHPS) and fight for his country against the Germans. While others laugh at his ambition, Valiant remains strong in his convictions. He will become a member of the RHPS and he will help save England.
Because the RHPS has been depleted and they’re desperate for new recruits, Valiant is able to talk his way onto the F Squad. After enduring rigorous training sessions along with his fellow recruits, Valiant and his cohorts are chosen (because Squads A-E are dead) for one of the most dangerous missions of World War II. They must fly behind enemy lines, pick up a secret message, and return it to headquarters in London. Are you getting the idea this isn’t your normal happy animated Disney animal movie?
Ewan McGregor, Tim Curry, Jim Broadbent, and Ricky Gervais lend their voices to the film but with little or no real impact. Anyone could have voiced these pigeons and they’d have had the same amount of appeal.
The animation in “Valiant” is fine though if the targeted demographic is the younger set, the colors could have been pumped up more. They don’t jump off the screen and with a story like this, they need to in order to hold the interest of anyone under the age of 12.
To tell the truth, I was a little weirded out by “Valiant.” Even after reading the synopsis I wasn’t prepared for how much of a World War II story “Valiant” aimed to tell. The German falcons versus the British carrier pigeons, a world at war, heroes and villains, and very limited humor – oh my. I can not see this movie finding anything but a very limited audience.
Why this animated movie now? Story-wise, it’s a throwback to decades ago when World War II movies were the rage and when an animated movie such as this one would have felt at home. But in 2005, its World War II carrier pigeon storyline just feels dated and out of place.
I’m an animal lover and I believe that honoring those furred and feathered creatures who assist in time of war is the least we can do. But that doesn’t mean we need a feature length animated movie about heroic carrier pigeons. A nice half hour documentary on the Discovery Channel would have sufficed quite nicely – and been much more entertaining.
GRADE: C-
"Valiant" was directed by Gary Chapman and is rated G.
