Valiant

Name: Valiant
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, War, Animation, Family
Released: August 19, 2005
Duration: 76 min
Rating: 45
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Ricky Gervais

2005

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 47 Ratings

See All

5.2

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

5.2	Your Score
5.2	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 47 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Movie Details & Credits

Buena Vista Pictures | Release Date: August 19, 2005 | G

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Ricky Gervais

Summary: From the producer of "Shrek" and "Shrek 2," comes this high-flying computer-animated comedy-adventure tale of a brave-but-undersized pigeon named Valiant (voiced by Ewan McGregor), who dreams of joining the elite Royal Homing Pigeon Service (RHPS), and serving crown and country during World War II. (Walt Disney Pictures)

Director: Gary Chapman

Genre(s): Adventure, Comedy, War, Animation, Family

Rating: G

Runtime: 76 min

See All Details and Credits

Watch Now

Buy on

Stream On

Expand

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

Ann Hornaday

A smart, marvelously drawn account of the bravery of homing pigeons during World War II. Read full review

Winda Benedetti

It's a tale with plenty of spirit and a good heart, and yet, this story doesn't so much soar across the screen as it does waddle. Read full review

Kyle Smith

The best sequence comes when the gang meet a saucy French lady mouse who works for the Resistance and at moments of high drama sings "Je Ne Regrette Rien" ("Ah!" your children will say. "At last, an Edith Piaf joke!") Read full review

James Berardinelli

It's not as clever as it thinks it is, not as funny or exciting as it should be, and not as engaging as it needs to be to prevent kids from losing interest and parents from falling asleep. Read full review

Jami Bernard

The visuals might be undistinguished, but the voices are excellent. Read full review

Ray Bennett

A plucky little bird that just won't fly. Read full review

Marjorie Baumgarten

The movie makes use of every avian pun possible, a pattern that becomes quickly monotonous and predictable, if not contagious. Read full review

SEE ALL 27 REVIEWS

Write a Review

User Reviews

Sophie

Jul 31, 2007

Not as bad as the reviews are saying it is. Yeah, it's not great, but it's okay for one watch. Ricky is very funny in it.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

MovieLonely94

Nov 6, 2010

the animation was cheap, but the acting wasn't bad

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

MarkB.

Sep 27, 2005

Why, in the name of all that's decent and fair, didn't Disney just give Pixar anything and everything they wanted just to stay on? It's not like Disney's most recent traditional animation ventures, Brother Bear and Home on the Range, did much to uphold or advance their Why, in the name of all that's decent and fair, didn't Disney just give Pixar anything and everything they wanted just to stay on? It's not like Disney's most recent traditional animation ventures, Brother Bear and Home on the Range, did much to uphold or advance their legend OR fill their coffers, and this lame CGI effort wasn't as much released into theaters as sneaked in. (Perhaps that's why the very few posters on display for this could get away with the title character flashing what could be construed by someone or other as a peace sign less than 2 years after Amanda Bynes had her photographic arm sliced off for showing one in the ad for What A Girl Wants.) Unattractively animated characters and backgrounds perfunctory enough that I was surprised not to see the same two trees and a building repeated endlessly start to sink this story about a runty but intrepid carrier pigeon who proves himself a hero in battle and to his avian squadron...and completely undistinguished vocal characterizations (shockingly by such top British talent as John Hurt and Ricky Gervais) submerge it altogether. (Ewan Macgregor also voiced a lead in Robots earlier this year, and strikes out a second time here; why is it that he can do a memorable, letter-perfect impersonation of a young Alec Guinness in the Star Wars prequels but be so utterly forgettable behind a mike?) The most puzzling aspect of Valiant is that I still have absolutely no idea whom it's aimed at; all the 1940s jokesw (with a few James Bond and Dirty Harry references thrown in) are way over the kids' heads, and adults who've seen the Toy Storys, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles--in fact, ANYTHING Pixar's done--will find Valiant way too slow-moving and low-wattage. (And let's not even bring up Nick Park's wonderful Chicken Run, which succeeded in everything Valiant failed at; the former was cagey enough to provide a simple but funny and exciting poultry-versus-people storyline for children and then overlay it with plenty of witty references to P.O.W. movies like The Great Escape and Stalag 17 for parents and guardians.) I can only guess that Valiant's best audience would be any vet of The Big One who intended to see The Great Raid, discovered that it left the multiplex a month ago, and still has a jones to see something--ANYTHING--World War II-related. Many other viewers will resuscitate memories of the only other pigeons-at-war cartoon that comes to mind, the relatively short-lived (but it's on DVD!) late 1960s Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning opus Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines...and be seriously tempted to start a chorus of "Stop That Pigeon...NOW!!"… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Annoymous1

May 18, 2013

Not the best movie you would see. First 20 minutes were out of date and not so exciting. Tons of wrong suff. And yet its still good to watch, animation buffs should still watch

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Robwinz

Dec 11, 2020

Valiant has got a very predictable story, brilliant voice actors, terrible pacing, some good humour at times, lots of plot holes and the animation for this movie is honestly very dated.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Iky009

Jan 6, 2014

Una druegaUna druega … Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Sarian263

Mar 15, 2021

This is the first and since then ONLY movie where I have actually fallen asleep in the cinema watching it when it originally came out. All these years later, I decided to give it another chance and although the acting isnt bad and the concept for the story is good enough, EVERYTHING else inThis is the first and since then ONLY movie where I have actually fallen asleep in the cinema watching it when it originally came out. All these years later, I decided to give it another chance and although the acting isnt bad and the concept for the story is good enough, EVERYTHING else in this movie just was not good for me.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

SEE ALL 9 REVIEWS