“…That’s our mission. Not to save ten turkeys or even a hundred, but all of them. We’re going back in time to the first Thanksgiving to get turkeys off the menu.”

Reggie (Owen Wilson) is tired of his lonely life on the farm. He seems to be the only smart Turkey there. All of the others are clueless about their fate. So when Reggie is chosen to receive the Presidential pardon, he’s excited. He’s soon enjoying himself at Camp David, just watching TV and eating pizza all day. That is until the soldier-like Jake (Woody Harrelson) kidnaps him and tells him they must go back in time to stop Turkeys from being served up at the first Thanksgiving. So a reluctant Reggie joins Jake on his ride in a time machine named S.T.E.V.E. (George Takei).

When the pair arrives at Plymouth Colony in the year 1621, they find themselves being chased by dogs and hunters. The pair soon meets the native turkeys and discovers they are much smarter than their modern counterparts. Jake immediately butts heads (literally) with the jock-like Ranger (Jimmy Hayward), the son of the tribes’ leader Chief Broadbeak (Keith David). But Reggie finds himself smitten with Broadbeak’s daughter Jenny (Amy Poehler). The turkeys must join forces to keep Governor Bradford (Dan Fogler) and Myles Standish (Colm Meaney) from finding their hidden home, and from becoming their Thanksgiving feast.

I thought Free Birds was a lot of fun. The premise itself, while ludicrous (in a fun way), is a great setting that allows the creators to bring together a lot of different genres—from action and adventure as the birds escape Camp David or battle with he colony, to sci-fi with the whole time travel aspect, to romance with Reggie and Jenny. There are a lot of excitement and a lot of laughs throughout the film.

The film also contains a lot of humor. We get some physical humor as Jake and Ranger trying to prove who’s stronger or compete in a dance battle. There are also some really fun sight gags (literally) with Jenny’s lazy eye. The film also has some great lines geared towards the adults—like when the president’s daughter give’s Reggie a tour of Camp David and rattles off the private personal issues of each staff member—including the President’s mistress. Free Birds is also overflowing with puns and other clever dialogue.

The cast delivers some great performances. Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson work great together, and really bring their characters to life. Amy Poehler is able to covey all of her usual charm and presence just through her voice, and George Takei gives personality to a space ship (“Oh My!”).

The film sounds excellent on the Blu-ray. There is great use of the stereo and surround channels to put the viewer right in the middle of all of the action. The picture also looks great—you can see the detail of the feathers on the turkeys, and of the beautiful backgrounds and landscapes. It’s a shame that Fox has decided not to release a 3D Blu-ray version in the US even though the film was released theatrically in 3D—there were a few scenes that looked like they were designed with 3D in mind.

The bonus features on the Blu-ray are a bit slim. There are a few short featurettes that talk about the animation and the music of the film, but there are no deleted scenes, gag reels or any appearance of the talented cast either in interviews or behind-the-scenes footage. However, based on the film alone, I think this is one Blu-ray worth checking out.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:31:03)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

DVD:

• Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English DD 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Digital Copy (Redemption Deadline 2/4/2017):

• UltraViolet DigitalHD Copy redeemable via Vudu or Target Ticket

Extras (Blu-ray only, except those noted with *):

• Birds Flipping History (1:27)
  A short clip from school play that reenacts the revised Thanksgiving meal from the film.
• Animating Free Birds: The Main Course (4:36)
  Director Jimmy Hayward talks about creating the “Pants Off Dance Off” sequence from the film. Viewers get a look at the animators acting out the scenes for visual reference, the work done by the various animation departments, and finally the completed scene. Includes interviews with fur & feather supervisor Monika Sawyer, texture supervisor Todd Harper, set dresser Jono Farmer, lighting supervisor Jeff Alcantara, and editor Chris Cartagena.
• Winging It: Animators in Action (4:32)
  Director Jimmy Hayward talks about the importance of casting the animators as the characters to get some acting references from which to animate. Includes footage of some of these fun performances as well as their related completed scenes.
• Talking Turkey with Composer Dominic Lewis (6:23)
  President of Music for Relativity Media Bob Bowen and Composer Dominic Lewis discuss how the various styles of music were chosen for different scenes in the film.
• Shake a Tail Feather* (:24)
  Very short ad with Jake and Reggie dancing to music.
• Theatrical Trailer* (1:50)

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I really enjoyed Free Birds—it was a nice blend of action, adventure, sci-fi and romance. At times, it was a little predictable, but still very fun. The cast delivers great performances, and the humor works on multiple levels, giving something for adults as well as for younger audiences. Parents of really young children may want to review it first as there are a few moments that may be a little frightening.