Catawba County News

Family Movie: Free Birds

Published: November 21, 2019

It’s a perfect time of year to watch Free Birds, the 2013 animated feature film produced by Reel FX Creative Studios that features voice talent by Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, and Amy Poehler.

The movie centers around Reggie, a turkey who attempts to warn his neighbors that turkeys are being eaten by humans but is rebuffed by them and deemed an outcast. After he receives a presidential pardon, Reggie is kidnapped by another turkey named Jake and taken back to the days of the first Thanksgiving via time machine in an attempt to rewrite history and save turkeys from ever being the main course of holiday meals.

Faced with spies, traps, attacks, and doubting colleagues, Reggie and his friends make some headway but are not entirely successful. Reggie returns home, only to learn that things did not work out as intended, so he goes back to the first Thanksgiving a second time. Ultimately, Reggie’s efforts find fruition as he helps the Pilgrims and the Native Americans understand that pizza is a better meal than turkey. Even so, once the film’s credits roll, viewers see that there are still some unresolved time glitches at play.

At just over an hour long, Free Birds is a manageable length for kids and is rated PG. It will be shown at 6 pm on Monday, November 25 at the Southwest Branch Library.