Line #25 WesternAnimation/Valiant


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ValiantPoster_9307.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:Some pigeons eat crumbs, others make history.]]
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4	''Valiant'' is a 2005 computer-animated children's film directed by Gary Chapman and produced by John H. Williams, who formerly produced ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'' and ''WesternAnimation/Shrek2''. To produce this one, he founded Vanguard Animation, which would later produce ''WesternAnimation/HappilyNEverAfter'' and ''WesternAnimation/SpaceChimps''.
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6	It is May 1944, in the midst of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. A team of Royal Homing Pigeon Service carrier pigeons, headed by Mercury (Creator/JohnCleese), are carrying a message of vital importance across the English Channel to Great Britain, when they're suddenly ambushed by German falcon General Von Talon (Creator/TimCurry), and Mercury is taken prisoner and interrogated. Meanwhile, the eponymous Valiant (Creator/EwanMcGregor) is a young pigeon of small stature in West Nestington who aspires to be a carrier pigeon himself. Heading to London to sign up, he meets with perpetually filthy pigeon Bugsy (Creator/RickyGervais), who signs up alongside him to escape the wrath of two thugs. The two go to the training camp and meet three more pigeons; Lofty, Toughwood and Tailfeather, and the five undergo training under the thumb of the aptly named [[DrillSergeantNasty Sergeant Monty]] (Creator/JimBroadbent). Valiant also falls in love with a nurse (a dove) named Victoria (Creator/OliviaWilliams). Once training is completed, the five are para-dropped into France on a mission to take a message from Rollo and [[SweetPollyOliver Charles de Girl]], of the [[LaResistance French Resistance]]. When the message is captured by the Falcons, it is vital to rescue it from Von Talon's clutches and get that message back to Britain...
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8	Not to be confused ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfPrinceValiant'' if such a thing were possible.
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10	!!This film provides examples of:
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12	* AlternateSpeciesCounterpart: The Royal Homing Pigeon Service are clearly inspired by the British Army's Parachute Regiment, and to an extent the Royal Air Force.
13	* ActionPrologue: The film opens with Mercury and two pigeons on a flight over the English Channel, where they are attacked by Von Talon and Mercury is captured.
14	* AnimalTalk: Pigeons, falcons and mice can talk to each other.
15	* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Von Talon is described as being "20 pounds of pigeon eating muscle" and flying at speeds of 200 miles per hour. In reality; falcons weigh 2.3 to 3.3 pounds, measure 23 inches (or 34 to 58cm), and fly at 230 miles per hour.
16	* BadassCape: Von Talon wears a leather one.
17	* BigBad: General Von Talon is the main antagonist, plotting to intercept our heroes' message to the Allied Forces.
18	* BlatantLies: Von Talon claims he's vegetarian while chewing a pigeon bone. Or he was simply being sarcastic.
19	* BrutalBirdOfPrey: All three of the falcons, especially Von Talon, who is portrayed as an AxCrazy NaziNobleman.
20	* BumblingHenchmanDuo: Underlingk and Cufflingk, though Cufflingk has proven to be the more smarter of the duo.
21	* BunnyEarsLawyer: Rollo, the Resistance's sabotage expert has strong PyroManiac tendencies, but he's kept around because... well, that's exactly what they need him to do.
22	* CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys: Nope. They're under-funded, ill-equipped and questionably sane, but their courage and skill are unquestionable.
23	* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: The film shows Mercury being tortured with '''Yodeling.''' It's treated like the sonic equivalent of thumbscrews, and Mercury's ability to withstand it unsettles even General Von Talon.
24	* DeadGuyOnDisplay: Von Talon keeps several pigeons he and his underlings have killed on display in his quarters. Valiant pretends to be one of these to infiltrate his base.
25	* DisneyDeath: Gutsy apparently crashes with the group's transport plane, then shows up later in the movie, injured but alive.
26	* DrillSergeantNasty: Sergeant Monty.
27	* EatingTheEnemy: This is what German falcons do to the English messenger pigeons once they've intercepted their messages.
28	* EyepatchOfPower: General Von Talon has one of these.
29	* GreaterScopeVillain: [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Who]] do you think trained those falcons?
30	* IcyBlueEyes: The single eye General Von Talon has left is light blue, fitting his ruthless personality.
31	* InstantMessengerPigeon: Basically the center of the whole film.
32	* LargeHam: Creator/TimCurry as typical. Also counts as EvilIsHammy.
33	* LoudOfWar: Von Talon tries to get Mercury to tell him the message by blasting him with [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment annoying yodeling music]].
34	* NationalAnimalStereotypes:
35	** The German falcons. Germany, especially Nazi Germany, often used birds of prey in their heraldry (although Nazi heraldry typically depicted eagles rather than falcons).
36	** The pigeons are English and the mice are French, which is not the usual nation-species pairing, but it serves the plot. Both species are natural prey of falcons, just like how both nations were attacked by Nazi Germany.
37	* NeverTrustATrailer: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQotjdQ4Lkw US trailer]] (a reedited version of the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqv5DqfOt08 UK/international trailer]]) is mostly scored with rock music (and the last minute is set to "Danger Zone"), when the film only has ''one'' pop song during the final scene (a pop version of "Shoo, Shoo Baby").
38	* NoSwastikas: No swastikas are seen in Von Talon's lair nor on his uniforms; possibly because this is a children's film.
39	* RedShirt: The two pigeons accompanying Mercury in the opening, who are killed with little fanfare by Von Talon.
40	* LaResistance: Rollo and Charles de Girl.
41	* "Music/RideOfTheValkyries": Von Talon sings "Pin on my medals... PIN ON MY MEDEALS..." to the tune of this whilst showering.
42	* ShoutOut: While the falcons take a pigeon to a cage he says this quote: "Get your talons off me you filthy falcons!" which is a reference to the 1968 film, ''Film/{{Planet of the Apes\|1968}}''.
43	* ShownTheirWork: The Germans did indeed train falcons to intercept carrier pigeons during WWII.
44	* SingingInTheShower: Von Talon does this while humming "Music/RideOfTheValkyries".
45	* StomachOfHolding: Having no way of carrying the message back to base, Valiant is forced to stuff it down his throat. He then barfs it up when back at base.
46	* SurvivalMantra: Mercury sings "Rule Britannia" to stave off the yodeling.
47	* TerribleTrio: BigBad General Von Talon is backed by two henchmen: Cuffingk and Underlingk.
48	* ThoseWackyNazis: The falcons symbolize this.
49	* TruthSerum: When the yodeling doesn't work, Von Talon gives Mercury one of these.
50	* VileVillainSaccharineShow: Despite some hammy moments, Von Talon is quite a sinister villain since he's basically an animal version of a real life Nazi war criminal in an otherwise family oriented cartoon. We also discover that he killed and/or ate various Allied pigeons. Some of them are also stuffed as a sort of CreepySouvenir.
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Context WesternAnimation / Valiant