Fly Away Home

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Thrilling, touching adventure for animal lovers.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Fly Away Home is a poignant and inspiring film about a 13-year-old girl from New Zealand sent to live with her father in Canada after her mother dies in a car accident. The car accident at the beginning may be difficult for younger viewers and for anyone who has experienced a similar tragedy. But Fly Away Home's message of concern and protection of Canada geese and their habitats, and the inventive ways Amy and Tom Alden work together to save them, should delight animal lovers of all ages. As a "mother goose" to the gaggle of geese she helps to fly south for the winter, Amy shows a great deal of care and conviction.

  • Kids will learn a lot about geese -- how to incubate them, raise them once they've hatched, their migration patterns -- and the importance of wetlands as an ecosystem. They'll also learn a bit about ultralight planes and see how one passionate activist can make difference -- even a kid standing up to a government for what she believes in.
  • Habitats and the animals who need them are worth protecting from sprawl and overdevelopment. Taking care of animals -- wild animals in particular -- requires a great deal of love, time, and effort. Through difficult circumstances, loved ones who have had problems in their relationships in the past can find it within themselves to make things better.
  • Amy Alden is a loving protector of her adopted gaggle of Canada geese. Her father, Tom, is a hardworking and creative inventor, willing to help his daughter figure out a way to protect the Canada geese from being taken by the government.
  • Early in the film, a car accident is shown from the point of view of the driver's seat as the car flips several times. A character hits a police officer over the head with a metal bowl after the officer attempts to clip the wings of one of the Canada geese. Hunters are shown shooting at geese.
  • While in the shower, Amy gets soap in her eye, screams in panic, and when her father kicks down the door, a friend of his sees her naked. No nudity is shown.
  • One use of "s--t."
  • Not applicable.
  • Adults drink wine at dinner but don't act intoxicated. A character falls asleep in front of the TV while drinking beer. At the end of the film, in the background, a character is smoking a cigar.

What's the story?

When her mother is killed in a car crash, 13-year-old Amy must go live with her father Tom (Jeff Daniels), whom she barely knows, in a new country. Amy does not want to be comforted, and wanders silently through the marshes near her new home. When developers illegally mow down the marsh, killing a goose, Amy finds the eggs she left behind, and begins to resolve her loss by mothering the goslings. Since she is the first thing they see when they hatch, they "imprint" her, and think of her as their mother, following her everywhere, even into the shower. The local authorities insist that their wings be clipped, since without their mother they can't learn to migrate and will cause problems for the community when they try to fly. But Amy and her father won't allow the geese to be impaired. Tom and Amy work together to teach the geese how to fly, and then migrate. As they work together, Amy finds a way to begin to heal her loss of her mother and her relationship with Tom.


Is it any good?

 

FLY AWAY HOME is a thrilling adventure, exquisitely told, by the same director and photographer who made The Black Stallion. Ballard has the patience to let the story tell itself, and the quiet moments are breathtakingly beautiful and heartbreakingly touching.


Explore, discuss, enjoy

  • Families can talk about why it's so important to Amy to keep the geese wild and free. What kind of a life would they have had with their wings clipped?

  • Familes can also talk aboutthe importance of preserving wetlands and their importance as an ecosystem. What's lost if too many wetlands are developed?

  • How does Amy's cause help her heal after her mother's death?


This review of Fly Away Home was written by
Kid, 11 years old
February 12, 2011
 
Very, very good movie.
this is a very good movie that has a few mild curse words.
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Teen, 13 years old
January 3, 2010
 
cute
this movie is pritty cute. And the story is very good. The only concern is that at the beggining a little girl and her mother get into a car acciedent. The mother dyes off screen. And the child survives but later her injuries from the acciedent are shown.
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Educator and Parent of 9 and 14 year old
April 9, 2008
 

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
Great Kids Movie
This is a great movie for kids who already know about wildlife and respect.

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Teen, 14 years old
December 19, 2009
 
A beautiful, heart-warming movie. I remember borrowing it from the library countless times when I was younger.

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Kid, 10 years old
September 27, 2009
 
A pritty swell movie so go wach it!
there is a car crash in the beginning but the rest of it's pretty swell in fact there is girl that razes geese and that flies in a airplane that looks like a goose to show them ware to fly i think it is a pretty swell movie so go watch it!
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Kid, 9 years old
September 20, 2009
 
Great for ages 8+
Hi, I'm ten years old and I think this is a wonderful story! The very beginning may be a little scary { a car accident.} But the rest is a great lovable film!
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Teen, 13 years old
April 9, 2008
 
THIS IS A MUST SEE FOR ANY CHILD ABOVE 3!
this was my all-time favorite movie when i was a kid. i loved the storyline, the acting, the geese. (when i was little i called this movie amie and the ducks because that was the main characters name and when they were goslings they looked like ducklings so yeah. hahahahaa) ok. any kid above 3 would like it because of the animals. just watch it with your kids. you'll enjoy it as well

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Kid, 7 years old
April 9, 2008
 
A cool movies based on an actual event
This was a great movie about a girl who trains geese to fly. She found them under a log. It's sad and happy at the same time because it's cool to see a young girl be so brave in flying with the geese but them letting them go. There was a little bit of violence when some hunters started shooting at the geese, but no one got hurt.

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Parent
February 21, 2011
 
Perfect for our 7 & 11 yr old, heart warming, but not too sappy
One of the best movies we've watched together as a family. Very smart. Very underrated. Opening scene w/ car accident was a little scary for 7 yr old, but after that it flows gently. One curse word 2/3 way through (s**t) that was out of character for this wonderful film.
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This review of Fly Away Home was written by
Topics:great girl role models, wild animals
Studio:Columbia Tristar
Director:Carroll Ballard
Cast:Anna Paquin, Dana Delany, Jeff Daniels
Genre:Family and Kids
Run time:107 minutes
Theatrical release date:May 1, 1998
DVD release date:August 7, 2001
MPAA rating:PG

This review of Fly Away Home was written by
 

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