The story follows a family of mallards who try to convince their overprotective father to go on a vacation of a lifetime and attempt to migrate from New England, through New York City, to Jamaica.

In hiring Renner, studio head and producer Meledandri sought to focus on a filmmaker's vision for the project in comparison with Illumination's recent films.

In Moosehead Pond, somewhere in a New England forest, anxious Mack Mallard constantly discourages his kids Dax and Gwen from venturing into the outside world much to the displeasure of his wife Pam.

During a rainstorm, they take up shelter in a swamp underneath a boardwalk where they encounter a crazed elderly heron named Erin, who brings them to her shack to spend the night with her and her husband Harry.

The following day, the Mallards arrive in New York City where Uncle Dan wanders off and ends up getting the ducks in trouble with a flock of pigeons led by the gritty Chump.

However, Pam's assertiveness puts them in Chump's good graces, and she leads them to her friend Delroy, a macaw who is from Jamaica but lives caged by a human chef that owns him.

Wanting to set Delroy free, Mack and Pam infiltrate the restaurant where the chef works to acquire a key to his cage.

Dax helps the pekins and his family escape the farm, but he loses his wing feathers after being stepped on by the chef, rendering him flightless.

The chef is knocked unconscious by a squash, hitting a button that causes the helicopter to drop out Pam and Mack, still stuck in their cage.

[3] In April 2023, more film crew such as co-director Guylo Homsy, editor Christian Gazal, and production designer Colin Stimpson were revealed.

[4] Renner previously directed the traditionally animated films Ernest & Celestine (2012) and The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales... (2017), and was already a household name among the staff of Illumination Studios Paris prior to his involvement with the company.

[5][6] Illumination head and film producer Chris Meledandri hired Renner to direct the studio's first original project since 2016 for his filmmaking sensibility, stating that during his visit to the Annecy International Animation Film Festival that there is a "filmmaker attention" for Migration in comparison with Illumination's recent releases up to The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023).

[19] Migration's world premiere took place on October 19, 2023, as the grand summit matinee of the VIEW Conference expo in Turin, Italy.

[21][24] On June 14, 2023, Illumination gave a special 25-minute preview of Migration at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, with Renner and Meledandri attending the event.

[1][2] In the United States and Canada, Migration was released alongside Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Anyone but You and The Iron Claw, and was projected to gross $10–15 million from 3,761 theaters in its four-day opening weekend.

The website's consensus reads: "Beautiful animation and entertaining work from a talented voice cast help Migration take flight in spite of a story that doesn't quite stand out from the flock.

[31] La Croix's Stephane Dreyfus, although finding the plot rather predictable, gave the film 3 stars out of 5 and praised its sense of burlesque.

[39] Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter praised the film's direction, humor, and emotional core and concluded that its "considerable appeal perhaps lies in the simplicity of its premise: The hardest part of embarking on any new journey is taking off.

"[40] Writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, Zaki Hassan compared Migration favorably to Illumination's other 2023 film, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, saying, "While that film found success thanks to multigenerational nostalgia, this one soars higher by creating an original world and making the audience feel invested in the characters' journeys.

"[41] Aparita Bhandari of The Globe and Mail felt that the film retained a balance between appealing to younger and older audiences and directed particular praise to Tresi Gazal's voice performance.

[42] Jake Coyle of the Associated Press commended the animation for its "warm cartoon tones" and "lush sense of color", but felt that the story was unoriginal, writing that "it never quite spreads its wings.

"[43] Kristen Page-Kirby of The Washington Post also directed praise at the animation, but felt the story lacked memorability and concluded, "Migration will be remembered as neither great nor terrible.