Free Birds

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1:57

Free Birds

PG

2013

1h 31m

Kids & Family

Holiday

Comedy

Adventure

Animation

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

20%

Tomatometer

89 Reviews

45%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Pardoned by the president, a lucky turkey (Owen Wilson) named Reggie gets to live a carefree lifestyle, until fellow fowl Jake (Woody Harrelson) recruits him for a history-changing mission. Jake and Reggie travel back in time to the year 1621, just before the first Thanksgiving. The plan: Prevent all turkeys from ever becoming holiday dinners. Unfortunately, the two birds encounter colonist Myles Standish (Colm Meaney), out to capture feathered friends for all the hungry Pilgrims.

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Critics Consensus

Technically proficient yet creatively moribund, Free Birds begs unfortunate comparisons with the dim-witted fowl that inspired it.

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Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

12/01/2013

2/5

Anyone who's seen Chicken Run will wonder why they're not enjoying a well-constructed Aardman animation rather than attempting to make sense of this incoherent transatlantic trifle.

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Charlotte O'Sullivan

London Evening Standard

11/29/2013

2/5

Ultimately embarrassing and even offensive but has an offbeat premise, some neat characters and plenty of guffaw-worthy gags.

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Sophie Monks Kaufman

Little White Lies

11/29/2013

2/5

Surely Owen Wilson can do a lot better than a slipshod animation about time travelling turkeys?

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Richard Crouse

Richard Crouse

01/31/2021

2.5/5

Feels average, like a flightless bird trying to soar with the Pixars of the genre.

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Brent McKnight

The Last Thing I See

07/08/2020

B-

It's nice to get a Thanksgiving movie that doesn't revolve around tedious family drama. Though you may wind up having in uncomfortable conversation with your kids about exactly where your holiday meal comes from.

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Kathi Maio

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

03/11/2020

Much can be overlooked if such a movie is rollicking good fun. But Free Birds isn't even that. That's right, I'm going to say it. It's a turkey-and not one of the time-traveling freedom-fighter species, either.

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M N

@Michael986 6d

It’s ok thanksgiving movie but it’s not my favorite I don’t hate it but i don’t like that movie and I miss blue sky studios it got shutdown back in April 2021

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Ilyas Z

@Zellai Jan 27

If I'm Being Honest, The Movie Was Only Good Before They Went Back In Time To The First Thanksgiving. The Rest Of It is Mid, Bad, Or EVEN WORSE! 6/10 - 3/10

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Grayson C.

@Grayson5363 Jan 27

This Free Birds Is Animated Action Movie And Jokes

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Michael S

@ArjunReddySmells Jan 20

Always molest a turkey.

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Leviathan M

@mendiboo Jan 1

The idea itself is not terrible: "Turkeys go back in time to get themselves off the menu for Thanksgiving." The execution, however, is an uneven blend of outdated tropes, like "The main character falls in love with a strong independent female." Unfunny jokes, like "Strong side character somehow doesn't know what the fuck a map is, or even a gate." And all of that is only sidelined by memes, parodies, YTPs, etc. Despite getting a cult following, Free Birds is just another run-of-the-mill, poorly executed film about turkeys, going back in time, to get them off the menu.

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Dias S

@stebbysteb Dec 8

They didn't lie. They definitely went back in time to the first Thanksgiving to get turkeys off the menu. Jokes aside, it's genuinely a silly little movie that's fun to watch in the holiday season. Of course it's not gonna be the *best* thing in the world, but it managed to make me chuckle a little in some parts.

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Jimmy Hayward

Director

Owen Wilson

Reggie

Woody Harrelson

Jake

Amy Poehler

Jenny

George Takei

S.T.E.V.E.

Colm Meaney

Myles Standish

Free Birds: Official Clip - Gunpowder Explosion

2:10

Free Birds: Official Clip - Pizza Delivery From the Future

2:29

Free Birds: Official Clip - The Pizza Turkey

2:28

Free Birds: Official Clip - Saving Turkey Chicks

2:28

Free Birds: Official Clip - Bromantic Dancing

1:29

Free Birds: Official Clip - The Cranberry Sauce Joke

2:30

Free Birds: Official Clip - Laser Pointer Chase

1:36

Free Birds: Official Clip - The Turkey Hunt

2:30

Free Birds: Official Clip - We're All Idiots

2:29

Free Birds: Official Clip - Trapped by the Pilgrims

2:30

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Free Birds: Trailer 2

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Synopsis

Pardoned by the president, a lucky turkey (Owen Wilson) named Reggie gets to live a carefree lifestyle, until fellow fowl Jake (Woody Harrelson) recruits him for a history-changing mission. Jake and Reggie travel back in time to the year 1621, just before the first Thanksgiving. The plan: Prevent all turkeys from ever becoming holiday dinners. Unfortunately, the two birds encounter colonist Myles Standish (Colm Meaney), out to capture feathered friends for all the hungry Pilgrims.

Director: Jimmy Hayward
Producer: Scott Mosier
Screenwriter: Scott Mosier, Jimmy Hayward
Distributor: Relativity Media
Production Co: Relativity, Reel FX Animation Studios
Rating: PG (Some Action/Peril|Rude Humor)
Genre: Kids & Family, Holiday, Comedy, Adventure, Animation
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 1, 2013, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 31, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $55.7M
Runtime: 1h 31m

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