'Free Birds,' movie review

Courtesy of Relativity Media

Jake (left, voiced by Woody Harrelson), Reggie (center, Owen Wilson) and Jenny (Amy Poehler) in ‘Free Birds’

Most minor animated movies are so rote that it’s worth acknowledging a strange bird like this cheerfully gonzo kid flick. It’s no masterpiece, but if you’re hoping for a family film that will keep everyone reasonably entertained, this will fly.

Owen Wilson deserves much of the credit, thanks to his nimble delivery as Reggie, the only intelligent turkey on his farm. While the rest of his flock is as dumb as stuffing, a panicked Reggie realizes they’re all being fattened up for a feast. But before he can hit somebody’s Thanksgiving table, he’s whisked into a photo op, to be officially freed by the President.

Much to his delight, he gets his own room at Camp David, along with cable and all the pizza he can eat. Alas, his paradise is ruined when another bird, named Jake (Woody Harrelson), kidnaps him. Jake is on a mission to save turkeykind, by traveling back to the 17th century in a talking time machine (dryly voiced by George Takei), to redefine Thanksgiving.

Jake’s plan is to convince the pilgrims and Native Americans that a vegetarian celebration would be ideal. Unfortunately, the vicious Myles Standish (Colm Meaney) firmly believes otherwise. So Jake and Reggie have to save their fellow fowl, including a cute turkey named Jenny (Amy Poehler), before the Big Day.

Between the cheap-looking animation (skip the 3-D ticket) and simplistic plotting, no one’s going to mistake this modest effort for a Pixar project. But it’s a nice surprise to realize that the script does have higher aspirations.

The one-liners are intermittently sharp and unexpectedly offbeat. And the voice cast ably connects with Hayward’s slightly skewed sensibility, which goes a long way when the action starts to falter.

After an amusingly weird first half, things take a serious turn toward the end, with an unnecessarily violent, “Braveheart”-style battle. Hayward’s handling of the Native Americans’ plight — which seems to be represented by the turkeys — also feels misguided.

Children, of course, won’t notice the political subtext. But do be prepared for them to exit the theater demanding that you make only Tofurkey in the future.