Valiant (film)

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Valiant
Valiant1.jpg
North American theatrical release poster
Directed byGary Chapman
Screenplay by
  • Jordan Katz
  • George Webster
  • George Melrod
Story byGeorge Webster
Produced by John H. Williams
Starring
Edited byJim Stewart
Music by George Fenton
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 25 March 2005 (2005-03-25)(United Kingdom)
  • 19 August 2005 (2005-08-19)(United States)
Running time
76 minutes
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$35 million [2]
Box office$61.7 million [2]

Valiant is a 2005 animated comedy film produced by John H. Williams and directed by Gary Chapman. It is the first feature film by American animation studio Vanguard Animation. The ensemble voice cast includes Ewan McGregor, Ricky Gervais, Tim Curry, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Laurie, John Cleese, John Hurt, Pip Torrens, Rik Mayall, and Olivia Williams. Set in May 1944, the film follows of a group of war pigeons during World War II. It was inspired by true stories of hundreds of pigeons that helped the soldiers in the war.

Contents

Valiant was released in the United Kingdom on 25 March 2005, and in the United States on 19 August. It received mixed reviews from critics, and grossed $62 million against a $35 million budget.

Plot

In May 1944, during World War II, three Royal Homing Pigeon Service (RHPS) war pigeons led by Mercury are flying across the English Channel carrying a vital message to Great Britain when they are ambushed by a German-affiliated peregrine falcon named General Von Talon, who kills Mercury's comrades and takes him as a prisoner of war.

In West Nestington, a small wood pigeon named Valiant watches an Allied propaganda film at his local bar with his best friend and barman, a seagull named Felix, before a war hero named Wing Commander Gutsy arrives to announce signups for the RHPS will begin the next day in Trafalgar Square. Valiant encounters an uncouth pigeon named Bugsy en route to the square, and in order to escape a pair of magpie thugs he cheated in a shell game, Bugsy signs up too. The pair are assigned to Squad F along with an intellectual red pigeon named Lofty and two muscular yet dimwitted brothers named Toughwood and Tailfeather. At the recruit training facility they're placed under Sergeant Monty's command and Valiant develops a crush on the camp's nurse, a dove named Victoria. Across the English Channel, Von Talon and his falcon minions Cufflingk and Underlingk torture Mercury into revealing the message was sent from Saint Pierre in France.

Gutsy informs Monty the recruits must leave before their training is complete. Bugsy deserts, fearing for his life, but returns as Squad F departs. Their plane is damaged in an anti-aircraft attack and the squad bail outs. A technical malfunction traps Gutsy on the plane as it crash-lands.

In France, Squad F meets Charles de Girl and Rollo, two mice from the French Resistance's Mouse Division, who lead them to Saint-Pierre. They're ordered to deliver the same message but Von Talon's forces attack, capturing Bugsy. Unaware that Squad F followed him to his bunker hideout, Von Talon imprisons Bugsy, intending to kill him after he delivers the message to Der Fuehrer. Squad F reunites with Gutsy and Valiant uses his short stature to infiltrate Von Talon's bunker and rescue Bugsy and Mercury. The falcons discover them during their escape, but Squad F, Mercury, and Gutsy hold off Cufflingk and Underlingk while Valiant flies to London to deliver the message, pursued by Von Talon.

With Felix and his fellow West Nestington residents' help, Valiant subdues Von Talon and successfully delivers the message. The message causes the Allies to change their invasion plans and land in Normandy. Squad F receives the Dickin Medal and celebrates at the West Nestington bar, where Valiant shares a kiss with Victoria. A message is then displayed commending the animals that saved thousands of lives during World War II.

Voice cast

Themes

Valiant takes the Second World War as its backdrop, and thus the film has various factual references to World War II. McGregor himself called it "a good old-fashioned war movie". [3] The film's use of World War II imagery is apparent throughout; for instance, the villainous characters in the film hold obvious links to the Nazis, although Nazism is never specifically mentioned, nor are Nazi symbols ever overtly visually depicted. Edited symbols are, however, discreetly inserted; for example, General Von Talon wears a large Reichsadler badge that depicts the German eagle, taken from the coat of arms of Germany. Yet this version, unlike the Hoheitszeichen (Nazi Germany's national insignia), has the eagle grasping two bones, [3] whereas the Hoheitszeichen depicts the eagle clutching a swastika. Furthermore, the film's primary antagonist, Von Talon, holds specific links to Adolf Hitler. For example, Von Talon states whilst holding Mercury as a prisoner of war that he would not eat Mercury, as he is a vegetarian, a direct reference to Adolf Hitler's vegetarianism. [4]

Production

Development

If you think it's Nemo with feathers, then you're wrong. It's easier to create colorful tropical fish, or toys running around a kid's room. Valiant is different. It's set in the Second World War; it's dark, dangerous, yet funny — and that's quite hard.

—Gary Chapman [5]

179 modelers, animators, shaders, texturers began work on Valiant at the west London-based Ealing Studios. [5] It was the second computer-animated film to be made in the United Kingdom, after The Magic Roundabout which premiered months prior to Valiant. John H. Williams of Vanguard Animation said that a lot of European animators who had worked at Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Feature Animation, and DreamWorks Animation were interested in going back to Europe and, unaware of the production of The Magic Roundabout, they hoped to be the first studio to produce a CGI film in Europe. [6] Williams also explained that, while it would have been $3 million cheaper to make in LA, $10–12 million in tax and co-production money was available due to producing the film in Britain. [6] Additionally, the bonus of the location was that the UK Film Council offered Valiant a record-breaking £2.6 million grant. [6] Valiant's budget of $35,000,000 is considered low in comparison to other CGI productions, with films on which Williams had previously worked, such as Shrek 2 , having a budget of $150,000,000. [7]

Director

Gary Chapman made his directorial debut with Valiant. Initially Chapman was hired for character and production design during project development before he was attached to direct the film after extensive work with story development, writers, and producers. Chapman was subsequently storyboard artist, designing characters for the Vanguard Animation film Space Chimps . [8]

Animation

The animals were clothed under Chapman's orders to create a more distinctive look for each character. Valiant bird clothing.jpg
The animals were clothed under Chapman's orders to create a more distinctive look for each character.

The film, on a tight budget and with a relatively small group of animators, was created in 106 weeks, [5] in what The Times described as "a piece of guerrilla film-making" in comparison to the other CGI animated films created by major studios. [5] At least 5 computer animators worked together for every scene of the 76-minute film, working on effects such as color, movement and shading. [9] As a result of the low number of animators, some critics called the film's animation "amateurish-looking", [10] but other reviewers stated that the film was "nicely animated". [11]

Tom Jacomb, line producer for Vanguard Animation, said that the biggest difficulties whilst making the film was the detail required for the birds' feathers. He stated that "most — no, all — our problems were feathers", [6] and described them as a "misery in computer animation". [6] Director Gary Chapman insisted that each bird must look distinctive, [6] and as a result, the pigeons came in various colors, including beige, blue, yellow, red and grey. He also requested that each bird be dressed in clothing, [6] and clothing accessories appear throughout the film on characters, usually hats, belts, and military medals and, in the case of the villainous Von Talon, a black leather cape. However, before Valiant, Bugsy, Lofty Thaddeus Worthington, Tailfeather, Toughwood complete their military training, they appear entirely clothes-free, equipped with no military regalia.

C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures also provided animation work on the film. [12]

Casting

By December 2003, Ewan McGregor joined the cast [13] along with Ben Kingsley, Jim Broadbent, Rupert Everett, Hugh Laurie, John Hurt and Ricky Gervais. In April 2004, John Cleese and Tim Curry joined in. Olivia Williams joined in the cast. Kingsley and Everett later dropped out of the film.

Distribution

In 2002, the Walt Disney Studios signed a four-picture deal with Vanguard, with Valiant being the first under the deal. The deal would allow Disney to secure North American distribution and home video rights to the film, and worldwide licensing rights. [14]

Soundtrack

The musical score was composed by George Fenton and mostly performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. [15] The orchestral music is in keeping with the military theme of the film, such as through "March of the R.H.P.S.", performed by The Central Band of the Royal Air Force. [15] Tracks were recorded at AIR Recording Studios and at Angel Recording Studios in London and at Right Track Studios, New York. [15] The only track not composed by Fenton is "Shoo Shoo Baby", performed by R&B girl group Mis-Teeq, [15] originally sung by the popular American wartime group, the Andrews Sisters. Although "Shoo Shoo Baby" was the only track on the album containing lyrics, it was not the only lyrical track used in the film – "Non, je ne regrette rien" by Édith Piaf is played in one scene in the film, despite it being recorded in 1960, 16 years after 1944, when the film was set. [16]

Reception

Box office

The film grossed $19,478,106 in the U.S. and $42,268,782 internationally, which puts it at a worldwide total of $61,746,888. Although it wasn't a box office flop, the film held the record for lowest box office of a CGI animated film, until this record was later beaten in 2006 by Doogal, the American re-dubbed version of The Magic Roundabout . [2]

Critical reception

Valiant received mixed reviews from critics. The film received a 32% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 114 reviews with an average rating of 5/10. The site's consensus reads: "Valiant has a good collection of voice talents, but the story is strictly by-the-numbers". [17] On Metacritic, the film has a 45 out of 100 based on 27 critic reviews indicating "mixed or average reviews".

References

  1. ↑ "Valiant: "Some pigeons eat crumbs, others make history"". April 2005.
  2. 1 2 3 "Valiant (2005)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 10 March 2009.
  3. 1 2 Valiant (Making of Featurette). Gary Chapman. London: Vanguard Animation. 2005 [2005]. EDV9307.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ↑ O'Sullivan, Michael (19 August 2005). "'Valiant' Flies Over Wee Heads". The Washington Post . Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Where pigeons dare". The Times . 20 March 2005. Retrieved 10 January 2010.[ dead link ]
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Crewe, Candida (22 March 2005). "Plucky British pigeon takes on Hollywood". The Telegraph . Retrieved 10 January 2010.
  7. ↑ "Shrek 2". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  8. ↑ Gary Chapman, IMDb. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  9. ↑ "Where pigeons dare: Part 2". The Times . 20 March 2005. Retrieved 10 January 2010.[ dead link ]
  10. ↑ Carina Chocano (19 August 2005). "Style flies the coop in lifeless 'Valiant'". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  11. ↑ Linda McGee. "Valiant (G)". RTÉ . Retrieved 10 January 2010.
  12. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (16 March 2010). "Toronto FX giant C.O.R.E. Digital shuts down". The Hollywood Reporter. AP. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  13. ↑ "Hot McGregor to Voice Valiant Lead".
  14. ↑ "Disney Looks to Vanguard for Future CG Slate".
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Valiant Soundtrack CD". CD Universe. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  16. ↑ "Goofs for Valiant (2005)". IMDb . Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  17. ↑ "Valiant Movie Reviews, Pictures – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes . 19 August 2005. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
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