Today’s quick review: Free Birds. Reggie (Owen Wilson), a turkey pardoned by the President, has his pampered life turned upside-down when he meets Jake (Woody Harrelson), a self-proclaimed turkey of action on an important mission. Stealing an experimental time machine (George Takei), Reggie and Jake go back in time to 1621 to change the menu at the first Thanksgiving and prevent turkeys throughout history from becoming Thanksgiving dinners.
Free Birds is an animated family adventure about a pair of turkeys on a mission to change the course of history. Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson star as the mismatched pair of Reggie and Jake, who must work together to fulfill their destiny. Free Birds has a talented voice cast but not much else going for it. The movie aims to be a silly, feel-good romp, but its weak characters and poorly justified plot undermine its best efforts.
Free Birds is a hard sell from the very beginning. The movie treats time-traveling turkeys as the most natural idea in the world, but it does not do the work necessary to get the audience onboard. Reggie receives a cursory introduction before being thrust into a new situation as the President’s pet. Jake careens into the plot with no proper explanation, and by the time the time machine enters the picture, the story stops making much sense.
Even ignoring this messy start, Free Birds does not have much to offer. The main plot involves Reggie and Jake helping Jenny (Amy Poehler) and her tribe of wild turkeys evade Captain Standish (Colm Meaney) in the days leading up to the first Thanksgiving. But none of the characters are compelling enough to make this story worthwhile, and the presence of a fully-functional time machine undermines all of the movie’s attempts at drama.
The end result is a story that does not hang together, even by the lax standards of the genre. Free Birds never manages to sell its premise, its plot, or its characters, leaving it a flurry of mediocre jokes without the structure to make them engaging. The movie scores some points for letting its voice cast show off, and it earns a few modest laughs along the way. But its basic storytelling issues keep Free Birds from being more than a niche pick.
For a much more grounded comedy about poultry who do not want to be eaten, try Chicken Run. For a more entertaining time travel comedy, try Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
[5.8 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1621039/). I give it a 5.5 for a plot that does not hang together and humor that misses the mark.