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The story is based around the role of the homing pidgeon in the second world war with Britain reliant on it's Royal Homing Pidgeon Service (RHPS) in order to keep contact with the French resistance. Dropped in behind enemy lines, Valiant and his compatriots must deliver a critical message from the resistance to head office in Britain all the time operating against the enemy, a group of falcons. Very much an underdog story this is a heart-warming tale capable of producing a smile to a viewer of any age. Ricky Gervais has a tendency to produce the most laughs and he plays the socially unfit yet loveable 'Bugsy'.
My only negative comment would be that occassionally you feel the animators have missed a possible trick or two with the expression of their characters decreasing the impact of the comedy present. Nevertheless it's a film suitable for all and though it lasts only an hour and ten minutes there are a reasonable amount of extras present on the DVD for exploration.
This is the story of a brave WW II British homing pigeon, named Valiant, and his quest to get his message back home despite difficult situations. He is part of Squad F of the Royal Homing Pigeon Service, and after one of his comrades is trapped by enemy falcons, notably General Von Talon, it is up to Valiant to get the message home.
I had no idea that over 50% of all the medals awarded to animal war heros in WW II went to homing pigeons. I didn't even know that animals were given medals during the war, and I can tell you that I was happy to see 2 or 3 cats had received medals as well.
A feel-good movie. The French mouse Charles La Girl is a fantastic secondary character worth the price of the DVD alone.
Because the standard of animated films is getting so high, these films have to be very good indeed to impress adults. I thought it was OK the first time I watched it with my children, though no better than that. However, as I write this review my children are currently watching it for the third time at their request. Holding the attention of a pair of five year olds for the length of even a short film (it's about 76 minutes) is quite an achievement.
The title character is a tiny pigeon, voiced by Ewan McGregor, who is determined to be a hero. He joins the Royal Homing Pigeon service, and finds himself serving with a band of misfits who have to get messages through in the face of the german falcons.
The cast and plot takes the mickey out of many war stories, and fans of wartime comedies such Blackadder goes Forth, 'Allo 'Allo, and especially "It ain't half hot, Mum" will recognise characters from these shows reincarnated as pigeons.
The voice cast, which also includes Hugh Laurie, Ricky Gervais, Tim Curry, and John Cleese, do a professional and sometimes very amusing job of recreating all the wartime film stereotypes.
At the very end of the film shows a short written statment is displayed about the true history of animal bravery during world war 2, which I found strangely moving.
I don't think this film would have been great value for money if bought at the original full price. However, having initially rented it, and then on establishing that my children liked it, put it on the list to buy when it became available cheaply, I'm happy that the pleasure they gained from watching it did justify the relatively limited outlay.
good quality fun
(too old for a full review)
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