Parents have it tough at the multiplex these days – the few new releases appropriate for youngsters are often also some of the most mind-numbing, cringe-inducing movies out there. Such is the case with Relativity’s latest offering, the convoluted turkey time-travel pic Free Birds, which opens this November.
If you feel like losing a few brain cells, check out the trailer below:
Boasting the voice talents of Woody Harrelson and Owen Wilson, Free Birds focuses on a dare-devil pair of turkeys who, tired of seeing their fellows served up on Thanksgiving each year, decide to go back in time to colonial America, attempting to stop the Pilgrims from ever putting turkey on the menu.
Unfortunately, despite the involvement of Harrelson and Wilson, Free Birds looks like just about the worst family release I’ve seen so far this year. Aside from the awful tagline (“Hang On To Your Nuggets”), the plot of the film never really comes across in the trailer; instead, we get Harrelson’s burly turkey squawking about the unjust treatment of his species in today’s society, Wilson encountering his love interest (voiced by Amy Poehler) and blandly-animated human scientists chuckling at the turkeys’ antics.
I wish I could say that I don’t think Free Birds will do well at the box office, but the simple lack of competition may cause kids to flock to it in droves, reluctant parents in tow.
Will you be seeing Free Birds, or are you as exasperated by its lowest-common-denominator trailer as I am? Sound off in the comments section.
Free Birds opens in both regular theaters and 3D on November 1st.
