Bird Movie List : a personal project

[professionaljaywlker]

For a while I've been searching for animation and movies that has a bird as its center piece. Mostly birds as protagonists, but also sometimes animations or movies tied to the concept of birdhood.

I've decided to try and share it, in case I wanted to link to it for a fellow avian enthusiast.

List below the cut.

Movies : 

=> classed by specie of main character. Movies don't have to be good, just bird themed. I try to avoid ones that have bird main characters as a purely design choice (Does Donald Duck act like a duck ? not really.) 

Waterfowl :
- Migration (2023)  [Mallard Duck]
- Duck Duck Goose (2018) [Goose + Ducklings]
- Quackerz (2016) [Mandarin ducks + Mallard ducks]
-The Trumpet of the Swan (2001) [Trumpeter swans]

Passeriform :
- A Storks Journey – Little Bird’s Big Adventure (2017)  [House sparrow]
- Willy the Sparrow (1989) [Human who turns into a sparrow]
- War of the Birds / Fuglekrigen (1990) [Sparrow]
- Birds of Paradise (2010) [Sparrow ?]
- Robin Robin (2021) [Robin]

Penguins :
- Happy Feet 1 and 2 [Emperor penguin]
-The Pebble and the Penguin (1995) [Adelie Penguin]
- Surf’s Up (2007) [Rockhopper penguin]

Bird of Prey :
- Adventures In Zambezia (2012)  [Peregrine falcon]
- Legend of the Guardians [Barn owl + other owls]
- Ladyhawke (1985) [Human who turns into a hawk]


Galliform :
- Chicken Run (2005) [Chicken]
- Leafie: A Hen Into the Wild (2011) [Chicken]
- Free Birds (2013) [Turkeys]
- Rock-A-Doodle (1991) [Rooster (debatably birdy depiction)]

Pigeons :
- Valiant (2005) [pigeon]
- Spies in Disguise (2019) [Human who turns into a pigeon]
- The Aviators (2008) [Pigeon]

Other :
-.Manou the swift (2019) [Swift]
- Rio 1 and 2 [Spix's macaw]
-  Yellowbird (2014) [unspecified]
- Storks (2016) [Storks]
- Ploey : you never fly alone (2018) [Plover]

Avian therianthropy themes :
- Birdy (1984) [Human] 
- Wolf (2021) [Heavily therianthropy coded. Parrot secondary character]

Unsure (not watched nor recommended but on my to watch list) :
- Lost in Munich (2015) [African grey parrot]
- Brothers of the Wind (2015) [eagle]

Animation shorts :

Real birds :
- Sous la glace / Under the Ice [Grey Heron]
- Starry Eyed Duckling [Duck]
- Flock Together [Chicken, duck and goose]
- Birdsong [Kauaʻi ʻōʻō]
- Vanished Voices [Kauaʻi ʻōʻō]
- The Last Voice of Kauai [Kauaʻi ʻōʻō]
- Birds of a Feather [Pelican and Cormorant]
- Flamingo Pride [Flamingo] 
- Birds of a Feather [Unspecified Songbird]
- Crow : The Legend [Crow]
- Birds of a Feather [Peacock]
- Bird of a Feather [Peacock]
- Hadidance [Various]
- Piper [Sandpiper]
- An Eye for An Eye / Oeil pour Oeil [Wagtails]
- 布谷鸟叫迟了/ The Cuckoo's Late [Cuckoo] [would love a traduction]
- НА БЕГУ / On the Run ! [Roadrunner] 
- Это что за птица / What kind of bird is that ? [Goose + several other]
- The Ugly Duckling (disney vers) [Duck, swan]
- The Ugly Duckling (Russian vers) [Duck, Swan] [1] [2]
- King of the Nil [Pigeon, dove, backyard birds]
- Things that happen – the pitfalls of the ordinary [crows, magpie]
- Twigs [magpies]
- Chirpmail [Pigeons, sparrow]
- The Chicken and the Eagle [Chicken, eagle]
- Wings [robin]
- Ice pepper [penguins]
- Là ou le soleil se lève / Where the sun rises [Red Crowned Cranes]
- Code Rose / Code Pink [Flamingoes]

 Unspecified/Imaginary/Fantastic bird species :
- Boom [Dodo-ish bird?]
- Eagles and Chickens [Vultureish bird of prey, chickens]
- The Fox and the Bird [Humanoid Bird]
- Hawaiian birds
- Cracké [Ostrich ish bird?]
- Chimera [Harpy-ish Barn owl]
- Cuckoo [Mechanical cuckoo]
- Before We Were Birds / Прежде мы были птицами [Falcon-ish birds]
- Chickensaurus / O GALINHOSSAUROS [Chicken dinosaur]

Winged Humans / Bird/human chimeras :
- The Admiral and the Princess (The Blood Crystal) 1990 [humans turning to birds. Therianthropic subtext from one of the two?]
- Swallowtail
- Birds 
- Dodudindon

 

Comments

[citrakayah]

If you're also interested in writing the Firekeeper Saga by Jane Lindskold mostly revolves around wolves, but does have birds as secondary characters, and Children of Ruin stars a pair of superintelligent ravens.

[professionaljaywlker]

Not putting in books yet just because i'm actually working on it as a separate project, but good to mention anyway! I'll check it out when i'll have time. I'm actually looking forward to reading "the killers" by Daniel P. Mannix, which is about a fighting rooster and a cooper's hawk

[citrakayah]

I'd never heard of that author before. He looks interesting. Maybe I'll give some of his books a look myself, once I'm further down my current stack.

Which one of the movies/shorts has been your favorite?

[professionaljaywlker]

Oh thats super hard to answer !
I've loved on the run because obviously, roadrunner, but for exemple under the ice is absolutely gorgeous to look at. Birdsong is heartbreaking and speaks to me a lot as a biologist, and both Before we were Birds and The cuckoo's Late were great discoveries because it's something I'd never have seen if i didn't dig in other languages, so it's hard to choose one!

For the movies, I've obviously loved Rio and Ga'hoole, and in term of underated silly children movie, manou the swift and yellowbird were probably some that i enjoyed most, but I'll say my fave is leafie into the wild because it is both gorgeous AND underated.