| Valiant | |
|---|---|
 North American theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Gary Chapman |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by | George Webster |
| Produced by | John H. Williams |
| Starring | |
| Edited by | Jim Stewart |
| Music by | George Fenton |
Production company | |
| Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 76 minutes |
| Countries |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $35 million[2] |
| Box office | $61.7 million[2] |
Valiant is a 2005 animatedcomedy film produced byJohn H. Williams and directed by Gary Chapman. It is the first feature film by American animation studioVanguard Animation. Theensemble voice cast includesEwan McGregor,Ricky Gervais,Tim Curry,Jim Broadbent,Hugh Laurie,John Cleese,John Hurt,Pip Torrens,Rik Mayall, andOlivia Williams. Set in May 1944, the film follows of a group ofwar pigeons duringWorld War II. It was inspired by true stories of hundreds of pigeons that helped the soldiers in the war.
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.
In May 1944, duringWorld War II, three Royal Homing Pigeon Service (RHPS)war pigeons led by Mercury are flying across theEnglish Channel carrying a vital message toGreat Britain when they are ambushed by aGerman-affiliatedperegrine falcon named General Von Talon, who kills Mercury's comrades and takes him as aprisoner of war.
In West Nestington, a smallwood pigeon named Valiant watches anAllied propaganda film at his local bar with his best friend and barman, aseagull named Felix, before awar hero named Wing Commander Gutsy arrives to announce signups for the RHPS will begin the next day inTrafalgar Square. Valiant encounters an uncouth pigeon named Bugsy en route to the square, and in order to escape a pair ofmagpie thugs he cheated in ashell 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 therecruit 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 ananti-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 theFrench 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 toDer 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 andland in Normandy. Squad F receives theDickin 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.
Valiant takes theSecond World War as its backdrop, and thus the film has various factual references to World War II. McGregor himself called it "a good old-fashionedwar 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 theNazis, 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 largeReichsadler badge that depicts the German eagle, taken from thecoat 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 aswastika. Furthermore, the film's primaryantagonist, Von Talon, holds specific links toAdolf Hitler. For example, Von Talon states whilst holding Mercury as a prisoner of war that he would not eat Mercury, as he is avegetarian, a direct reference toAdolf Hitler's vegetarianism.[4]
If you think it'sNemo with feathers, then you're wrong. It's easier to create colorful tropical fish, ortoys 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.
179 modelers, animators, shaders, texturers began work onValiant at the west London-basedEaling Studios.[5] It was the second computer-animated film to be made in the United Kingdom, afterThe Magic Roundabout which premiered months prior toValiant.John H. Williams ofVanguard Animation said that a lot of European animators who had worked atPixar Animation Studios,Walt Disney Feature Animation, andDreamWorks Animation were interested in going back to Europe and, unaware of the production ofThe 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 inLA, $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 theUK Film Council offeredValiant 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 asShrek 2, having a budget of $150,000,000.[7]
Gary Chapman made his directorial debut withValiant. 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 filmSpace Chimps.[8]
The film, on a tight budget and with a relatively small group of animators, was created in 106 weeks,[5] in whatThe 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, usuallyhats,belts, andmilitary medals and, in the case of the villainous Von Talon, a black leathercape. 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]
By December 2003, Ewan McGregor joined the cast[13] along withBen Kingsley,Jim Broadbent,Rupert Everett,Hugh Laurie,John Hurt andRicky Gervais. In April 2004,John Cleese andTim Curry joined in. Olivia Williams joined in the cast. Kingsley and Everett later dropped out of the film.
In 2002,the Walt Disney Studios signed a four-picture deal with Vanguard, withValiant 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]
The musical score was composed byGeorge Fenton and mostly performed by theRoyal 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 byThe Central Band of the Royal Air Force.[15] Tracks were recorded atAIR Recording Studios and atAngel Recording Studios inLondon and atRight Track Studios,New York.[15] The only track not composed by Fenton is "Shoo Shoo Baby", performed byR&B girl groupMis-Teeq,[15] originally sung by the popular American wartime group, theAndrews 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" byÉdith 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]
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 abox office flop, the film held the record for lowest box office of a CGI animated film, until this record was later beaten in2006 byDoogal, the American re-dubbed version of The Magic Roundabout.[2]
Valiant received mixed reviews from critics. The film received a 32% "rotten" rating onRotten 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".
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