At the end of Disney's new animated comedy, Valiant, we learn about the Dickin Award, given to animals who displayed exceptional bravery in wartime. It sounds unreal but more than 50 animals won the British honor during World War II, the majority of them carrier pigeons. One wonders what the awards ceremony looked like, whether medals were given out. Did the pigeons and other animals have names? Were their photographs taken?
Interesting questions all, and rest assured that Valiant answers none of them. The movie is about a squad of carrier pigeons trying to carry an important message out of occupied France for the Allies. The ranks of Britain's Royal Homing Pigeon Service have been decimated by attacks from the vicious falcon Von Talon, and new recruits are needed.
Enter pip-squeak pigeon Valiant (voiced by Ewan McGregor), who wants to do his bit for the war effort. Who can blame him? The pigeon "aviators" in the service wear mirrored sunglasses, scarves and leather helmets, speak with the impeccable precision of true aristocrats, and strut around like cocks of the walk.
Valiant flies to London, meets up with con-bird Bugsy, who makes a living scamming birds in Trafalgar Square, and soon both are enlisted in the Air Force. From there it's everything you'd expect. Valiant's ragtag squad (is there any other kind?) is whipped into shape, he romances a cute nurse dove, and then the boys are shipped off to a dangerous mission. The only real grace notes are two French resistance mice the pigeons meet along the way, the silky Charles De Girl and Rollo, the pudgy explosives expert who carries a belt of matches around his large waist. I wish we could have seen more of them, but there's no time, because before long, Valiant must prove himself in battle.
Besides McGregor, there's vocal talent aplenty: Jim Broadbent, John Cleese, Olivia Williams. But names alone are not enough. Cleese, who plays a pigeon POW, is surprisingly unfunny, and haven't we seen (or heard) McGregor do his wide-eyed innocent shtick before in Robots, Big Fish or even Moulin Rouge? The animation is respectable, but there's little about it with the kinetic energy of Chicken Run, to say nothing of your average Pixar flick. Short running times are often a blessing—the film runs only 76 minutes—but the action moves forward in such a bland way that, by the end, we're rather hoping Valiant completes his mission quickly, picks up his awards and smooches the nurse, so we too can hurry home.