Fly Away Home is a real weepie. After her mother is killed in a car crash, young Amy (Paquin) is reunited with the eccentric dad (Daniels) she barely knows. Unhappy in her new situation, Amy withdraws from everyone until one day she finds a nest of goose eggs that have been abandoned, so she raises the chicks when they hatch. The problem is, the geese need to fly south for the winter but have no one to show them how it is done, so Amy convinces her dad to help her – with the help of some light aircraft.
Inspired by Bill Lishman’s autobiography (a man who experimented to see if Canada geese could be taught migration routes by humans in microlight aircraft), this could have been a pile of sentimental slush, but instead it is surprisingly restrained, and all the better for it. Paquin and Daniels make a believable dad and daughter learning about each other, but the best moments are those featuring the birds in flight, moments that are often truly spectacular.
Is Fly Away Home suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...
Children will be upset by Amy’s mother dying at the beginning.
If you like this, why not try: The Yearling, Born Free, Free Willy, Andre, Flipper,