38
Metascore
27 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 76Film.comFilm.comA more than worthy (and weird) holiday diversion for the whole family.
- Although it seldom approaches the inspiration of its plucky premise... Free Birds nevertheless manages to avoid being branded a holiday turkey.
- 50Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekVillage VoiceStephanie ZacharekLike so many modern animated features, Free Birds packs too much in; the picture feels cramped and cluttered, and, despite its occasionally manic action, it moves as slowly as a fattened bird waddling toward its doom.
- 50VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangA cute but disposable item were it not for the story’s weird racial undertow.
- 50Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklyIn the end, the jokes simply aren’t funny enough to lift these flight-challenged fowl off the ground.
- The best moments are jokes that feel grafted onto a film that was probably close to completion before anyone involved realized they were portraying a fight between turkeys and English settlers as the largest conflict in the European colonization of North America.
- 38McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreMcClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreFrozen, undercooked and sorely lacking much in the way of “all the trimmings,” this turkey isn’t ready to serve.
- 30The DissolveScott TobiasThe DissolveScott TobiasFree Birds feels like Hollywood brining small children for the blockbusters they’ll pay to see when they’re older. It’s littered with quips, but the film puts a premium on loud, effects-driven action that mistakes nonstop intensity for cartoony entertainment.
- Free Birds falls flat, despite its good intentions, ideological cuteness, humorous polish, and skillful computer animation. The fine voice talents of the almost-ideal cast are wasted.
- 16The PlaylistDrew TaylorThe PlaylistDrew TaylorThe characters are so two-dimensional that a meaningful connection with the material isn't elusive; it's downright impossible.