The movie is oh so totally predictable, and oh so wonderful. Set firmly in the family movie mold, there are few hiccups in this journey through sentimentality to jerk you from your Disney-like trance. Kids and animals might be horrendous to work with, but to watch them they are totally magic. My favourite scene is when Amy (i.e. Paquin) hides from the geese so they will follow her father instead. The camera is placed behind Paquin as she hides in a little grotto. You know full well that at any minute sixteen feathered things are certain to come seek her out. And they do, and even though you knew it was coming, you still just love it.

The movie could be considered a portrait of adolescence. The story revolves around Amy and the changes to her life after the death of her mother. She moves from living in New Zealand with her mother (I guess with an accent like Paquin's she had to come from New Zealand) to live in Canada with her father, played by Jeff Daniels. Like adolescence, the film is not a smooth process and often seems uncertain as to where its headed.

The opening is very deft, conveying information vital to the story even as the credits role and Mary Chapin Carpenter wails 10, 000 miles. This part of the film is streamlined and moves effortlessly. So too, does the establishment of Amy's grief. She moves back to Canada with her father, and finds herself totally lost and alone. We've all been through adolescence and sorrow, and the moments where the camera seems to happen across Amy are very powerful. I felt her pain.

The action proper kicks off when Amy finds the goose eggs, retrieves them and puts them in a drawer waiting for them to hatch. Then the motion of the sfilm speeds to a frenetic pace as Amy, her dad and the audience enjoy the fuzz balls chicks. These guys are every bit as cute as Lassie, and there are 16 of them!!

The movie starts to falter a little when the compulsory villain has to be established, and to me, falters most of all when the whole greenie issue is brought in. This part of the film seems pretty pointless, actually, either because it is under developed or maybe because it has nowhere to go. The role of the media also seems arbitrary. Personally I think the film would have been much stronger had it remained as a simple tale of bonding between father and daughter. Somehow the fact that Amy becomes a media celebrity takes the joy of protecting her geese into another realm. It almost seems that Amy overcomes her pain by becoming a celebrity, when all she really cares about is her family - human and goose–.

Logic and common sense has little part to play in this movie. Indeed all credibility is surrendered when the head of the military base in New York accepts Amy's apologies for breaching national security, as long as she promises not to do it again.

The ending is totally inevitable and probably a little drawn out. But in reality it doesn't detract from the quality of the movie. The real joy of this film lies in its powerful escapism. Fly Away Home is a gem and will be treasured by audiences for generations to come.

By the way, the opening credits state that the film is based on a true story. Let me clarify for you that while the incident of training the geese to migrate actually took place, the story of Amy and her dad is fiction.