After a Sparrow loses his parents before he has even hatched, his life takes on a strange new adventure when he is raised by storks in A Stork’s Journey, coming to DVD July 4th.
~~~SPOILERS BELOW~~~~
A Storks Journey begins with a happy sparrow family getting ready for their egg to hatch. However, the wild is a dangerous place and a happy story can quickly turn into a tragedy. Before they get to see their beloved baby, Richard, they are eaten. Oh yes, you read that right. A Stork’s Journey begins with a Tarzan scenario where both parents become dinner. While the eating of the parents is not shown, it is hinted at with the fluttering of small feathers in the wind. FYI: Be prepared to explain what happened to them. More than likely you will get the question. “What happened mommy?” once the parents vanish.
I will admit, the whole “parents die” theme is getting kind of old. At first I had a hard time getting into this movie. I understand that there needs to be a tragic backstory so that the sparrow can think he is a stork. However, the theme is over used and bordering on cliche. It seems a journey to self discovery simply can’t happen without some sort of parent annihilation. And the tragic story doesn’t end there.
After the death of his parents and a summer of fun as a stork, his adoptive Stork mother leaves him to fend for himself during the harsh winter. While this doesn’t sound too bad, it actually is horrible. This cute little sparrow thinks he is a stork and has no idea how to act like a sparrow. So his adoptive family basically leaves him for dead, which almost happens until a mentally disturbed oversize Pygmy owl named Olga saves his life.
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While the first 20 minutes of A Stork’s Journey is a tragedy-happy-tragedy sandwich, the rest of the plot does get a little more interesting and funny, ending with a wonderful moral.
As Richard makes his way to Africa to be with his family, he runs into all kinds of strange characters. In fact, I am not sure he ever meets anyone “normal”. For example, he meets pigeons who are obsessed with the online world. They grab a hold of the cable wires and their brains are digitized…actually it might be more accurate to say their brains are fried…haha. No matter what happens to their brains, they are just as crazy as Olga, and yet just as helpful in their own way.
With all the shenanigans and hilarious characters, it is possible to miss the biggest part of this movie, the moral of the story. It turns out that the moral of this story is “be yourself.” No matter who you are, you can still do great and amazing things. Take Olga for example. She is an extra-large Pygmy owl that has been made fun of and bullied most of her life. She creates an imaginary friend to help her cope and she develops a crazy personality. However, she is always there to help a friend and because she is large in stature, she is able to help Richard make the journey to Africa. By accepting her size and who she is, Olga goes on to do great things. Her so-called handicap is actually her greatest strength.
I personally love what A Stork’s Journey teaches. The moral makes up for the first 20 minutes of the movie, which makes A Stork’s Journey worth a watch for the entire family. It is, after all, Dove Family Approved for all ages.
I give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
For more information of A Stork’s Journey, see my blog Download A Storks Journey for Free Today. This blog post even has a free activity page you can download print and create. It contains tic-tac-toe, a maze and a coloring activity.
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