Favorite Flicks: Fly Away Home

© 1996 Columbia Pictures
Running time: 107 min. Rated PG
Jeff Daniels, Anna Paquin

Based on the book Babe the Gallant Pig, by Dick King-Smith

 

PLOT

After her mother is killed in a car accident, thirteen-year-old Amy is sent to Canada to live with her estranged father, an eccentric inventor. Heartbroken and bitter, Amy resents her father and struggles to adapt to her new situation. When a nearby marsh is destroyed by developers, she discovers something that changes her life: a nest of Canada goose eggs. Amy raises the family of geese, protecting them from an overzealous game warden and teaching them how to fly with the aid of one of her father’s homemade airplanes. Because Canada geese need to be taught to migrate (usually by their parents), Amy and her father concoct a plan to teach the orphaned geese to migrate to North Carolina for the winter. Riding on their efforts is not only the survival of the birds but also the preservation of a wild bird refuge, which is destined to be bulldozed if migratory birds do not take up residence there soon.

HUMANE MESSAGES & OTHER GOOD POINTS

• Sensitively portrays the consequences of habitat destruction in a way that is understandable but not disturbing to children.

• Encourages compassion for animals. Amy finds the Canada goose eggs amidst the destroyed marsh and hears the goslings peeping inside; her fear that they will die prompts her to become their foster mother. She shows compassion again when one of the geese, Igor, is injured after accidentally flying into her plane. Amy nurses him back to health and lets him travel aboard the plane so he can learn the migratory path.

• Promotes responsible stewardship of animals. Amy keeps the goose eggs warm and safe in a drawer, feeds the goslings every two hours, teaches them how to preen and fly, protects them from harm, and is committed to teaching the birds survival skills, including migrating.

• Depicts people speaking up in defense of animals and the environment. When the game warden prepares to clip a gosling’s wing, Amy stops him from harming the bird. Amy’s father speaks out against the destruction of a marsh at a town hearing. Activists stage a peaceful protest at the bird refuge, holding off the bulldozers until Amy and the geese arrive and make the refuge legitimate.

• Recognizes that wild animals should not be kept as pets. Amy, her father, and her uncle acknowledge that keeping Canada geese in a barn for the winter would be like putting them in "prison," hence their plan to teach them how to migrate.

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

A bird in the hand. Read aloud Sweet Magnolia, by Virginia Kroll (Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge Publishing, 1995), in which a young girl visits her grandmother’s Louisiana wildlife rehabilitation center and rescues a painted bunting. Also read Flute’s Journey, by Lynne Cherry (Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1997), about a bird’s migration from Maryland to a Costa Rican rainforest. Both books are winners of the KIND Children’s Book Award, which recognizes an outstanding children’s book with a humane focus on animals or the environment. For more information on the KIND Children's Book Award, previous winners of the award, and additional recommended reading, click here.

A friendly reminder. Tell students that Amy interceded for the goslings only because it was clear that their parents had been driven away by habitat destruction. Remind them that they should never touch or otherwise disturb wild animals—including fawns, fledglings, and baby rabbits—or their nests. Parents of baby animals often watch their young from a safe distance and usually return to care for them. Explain to children that if they suspect an animal’s parents have been harmed or that baby animals are in danger, they should tell an adult right away. He or she can call an animal control officer or wildlife rehabilitator to assess the situation.

The real deal. Fly Away Home is based on the real-life adventures of Bill Lishman and Joe Duff, who use ultralight aircraft to teach geese and cranes how to migrate. Have students search the Internet to learn about Operation Migration, the brainchild of Lishman and Duff, and its efforts to help sandhill and whooping cranes. Have students write newspaper-style articles in which they explain Operation Migration’s goals and activities. One good source of information is http://fathergoose.durham.net.

We've got your goose. More advanced students may be interested in learning about the problems facing Canada geese in urban areas and what The HSUS is doing to help them. For more information, check out http://www.hsus.org/ace/12097.

To read James Cromwell's KIND News interview click here.