Valiant (2005)

Set in 1944, Valiant is a woodland pigeon who wants to become a great hero someday. When he hears they are hiring recruits for the Royal Homing Pigeon Service, he immediately sets out for ... See full summary »

Director:

Gary Chapman

Writers:

George Webster (story), Jordan Katz (screenplay),

Stars:

Ewan McGregor, Ricky Gervais, Tim Curry

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ewan McGregor	...	Valiant (voice)
Ricky Gervais	...	Bugsy (voice)
Tim Curry	...	Von Talon (voice)
Jim Broadbent	...	Sergeant (voice)
Hugh Laurie	...	Gutsy (voice)
John Cleese	...	Mercury (voice)
John Hurt	...	Felix (voice)
Pip Torrens	...	Lofty (voice)
Rik Mayall	...	Cufflingk (voice)
Olivia Williams	...	Victoria (voice)
Jonathan Ross	...	Big Thug (voice)
Brian Lonsdale	...	Toughwood (voice)
Dan Roberts	...	Tailfeather (voice)
Michael Schlingmann	...	Underlingk (voice)
Sharon Horgan	...	Charles De Girl

Storyline

Set in 1944, Valiant is a woodland pigeon who wants to become a great hero someday. When he hears they are hiring recruits for the Royal Homing Pigeon Service, he immediately sets out for London. On the way, he meets a smelly but friendly pigeon named Bugsy, who joins him, mainly to get away from clients he cheated in a game of find-the pebble, and helps him sign up for the war.

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Plot Keywords:

pigeon | falcon | disney animated feature | espionage | mill | 

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Taglines:

Some pigeons eat crumbs, others make history.

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | War

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Disney [us]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 August 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Vaillant, pigeon de combat!

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$462,961 (Brazil) (6 January 2006)

Gross:

$675,438 (Brazil) (13 January 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vanguard Animation, Ealing Studios, UK Film Council

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Part of the theme O/S for the film has been used as the theme music for Katanga Canyon at Alton Towers for years before the film was produced. The area is an African themed area hosting the Rapids and Run-Away Mine Train. The park's owners at the time, Tussauds, signed a contract to allow the use of the music for the film.

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Goofs

The German falcons wear "Pickelhauben" (pointed helmets) which were worn during WWI not WWII.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Lofty: [seeing Valiant & Bugsy] For a, quote, 'elite unit', unquote, they seem to be letting in anything with wings
[to Bugsy]
Lofty: , including those flies circling your bottom.

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Crazy Credits

No animals were harmed in the making of this film, including Dennis.

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Connections

References The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

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Soundtracks

" (There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover"
by Walter Kent & Nat Burton
Performed by Ricky Gervais
Published by EMI Music Publishing & Walter Kent Music
With special thanks to Jean Traubner

User Reviews

Great visuals cannot disguise a thin story

This film is about a pigeon called Valiant, whom no one thinks he could do anything big. It turns out that he does Britain a great service in World War II as a messenger pigeon.

The animation is excellent. The movements are smooth, and the birds are portrayed in great detail. However, the plot is very thin and totally predictable. The humour is not funny because it repeats itself every 30 seconds. There must have been 30 scenes where birds have mid air collisions and 30 scenes where birds hit a post and falls down. That does not even count the 30 farts and belches. And have I forgotten to mention smelly armpits? Can the filmmakers be more inspired and make less crude humour? I am not sure if kids will enjoy this. The characters are not even likable or cute. It is not entertaining enough.