Fails to get off the ground due to a by-numbers script and dodo-ugly character design.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
Village Voice by Akiva Gottlieb
The main problem with this Disney release--which also wastes the voices of Ricky Gervais and Jim Broadbent--is its refusal to recognize the war as anything but an excuse for tomfoolery.
Los Angeles Times by Carina Chocano
An unconscionably dreary and amateurish-looking thing, and the rote plot and annoyingly predictable script -- a compendium of bird puns, mostly -- don't work nearly hard enough to make up for the hammy awfulness of the images.
Unless your child has a close working knowledge of the role of homing pigeons in World War II British espionage, he or she is likely to be bamboozled for the duration.
Washington Post by Michael O'Sullivan
A mite too hard to follow for most of the kiddie crowd who'll want to see it.
The Hollywood Reporter by Ray Bennett
A plucky little bird that just won't fly.
Entertainment Weekly by Scott Brown
The CG is on the rubbery side, and the backdrops are jarringly 2-D. But Valiant isn't so hard to look at -- it's hard to listen to.
The New York Times by Stephen Holden
Valiant is in dire need of some "Shrek"-ian sass, not to mention a drop or two of genuine emotion.
The A.V. Club by Tasha Robinson
It was made fast and cheap, which shows in every none-too-slick frame.