What a Sparrow Called “Richard the Stork” Teaches Us

A review of the animated movie “Richard the Stork”

Images, Creative Commons

“Whether you’re a sparrow or a stork, you’re my son.”

A group of storks adopts Richard, an orphaned sparrow, who starts believing he is one of them. When the storks prepare for migration, Richard participates in what is a difficult journey ahead of him.

“Richard the Stork “(released in North America as A Stork’s Journey and also known as Little Bird’s Big Adventure) is a 2017 animated adventure film, running for 85 minutes. It was directed by Toby Genkel and Reza Memari.

This is a delightful, colorful family adventure tale that I found had the following poignant themes:

• We should look after those who need help.
• It doesn’t matter what our differences are because we have more similarities than differences.
• Fortune favors the brave and the determined.
• Everyone needs a friend.

The story may seem slow at first, but it picks up pace when a disco-loving budgerigar called Kiki appears. Richard, an orphan who is attached to his stork mother and brother, and his befuddled pgymy owl companion, Olga, have to rely on Kiki to get Richard to Africa.

Richard’s adoptive father stork refused to let the sparrow (who thinks he is a stork) fly with them to Gibraltar. Both Olga and Richard have delusions. Olga has an imaginary friend, wrought from her being born oversized and cast out from her own family.

This movie, while a kid’s story, illustrates how anyone can, wrongly, be made to feel unwanted and isolated. The results impact many, for example, Richard’s stork brother’s faith in his father is eroded when Richard is left behind. Without giving spoilers, I’m pointing out that the entire story is enjoyable and satisfying for all ages to watch.

The film is quite humorous too, with a group of internet-obsessed, social media-addicted pigeons included. Studio Rakete in Hamburg, Germany, and Studio 352 in Luxembourg created the storyboard.

Most of the character animation was done by Bug AS in Norway. Lighting/shading, FX simulations, and compositing of the final pictures were done by Walking the Dog from Belgium and Rise FX in Berlin. The movie was animated and rendered using Houdini, with over 500 shots to be finished.

As A Stork’s Journey, the movie won the 2018 Best Youth Film in the Bavarian Film Awards. I watched this movie on Amazon Prime. There’s a sequel called “Richard the Stork and the Mystery of the Great Jewel,” which I haven’t watched.

[embed]

I rate this movie highly, as something fun and relaxing, yet with serious messages, to watch! If you’ve ever felt that you’ve not belonged, this story is for you.

The film conveys themes of identity, belonging, and interspecies friendship. It will resonate with children by exploring how family is defined by who loves you and who you choose to love. This is the ultimate lesson that we learn from Richard the Stork (or A Stork’s Journey).