A Stork's Journey

"Their adventure is the destination."

2017 1h 25m DE

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 163

AnimationFamilyFantasyAdventureComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Orphaned at birth and raised by storks, teenage sparrow Richard believes he is one of them. But when time comes to migrate to Africa, his stork family is forced to reveal his true identity and leave him behind in the forest, since he is not a migratory bird and would not survive the journey. Determined to prove he is a stork after all, Richard ventures south on his own. But only with the help of Olga, an eccentric owl with an imaginary friend and Kiki, a narcissistic, disco-singing parakeet, does he stand a chance to reach his goal and learn to accept who he really is.

“Their adventure is the destination.”

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Cast

Christian Gaul
Kiki (voice)
Tilman Döbler
Richard (voice)
Nicolette Krebitz
Olga (voice)
Maud Ackermann
Aurora (voice)
Schroeder Kacmar
Baby Richard (voice)
Marco Eßer
Max (voice)
Marc Thompson
Kiki (voice)
Marcus Off
Claudius (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Toby Genkel
Writers: Reza Memari, Thomas Wellendorf, Tomislav Findrik
Languages: English
Countries: Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

85 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 9 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "A Stork's Journey Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Éric Neveux. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Reza Memari shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Christian Gaul and Tilman Döbler and Nicolette Krebitz carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Toby Genkel directs. Éric Neveux scores. Reza Memari cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

185 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 9 years ago.
3International production across 4 countries: Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway.
4Part of the "A Stork's Journey Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
6Original score by Éric Neveux. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Reza Memari shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Christian Gaul and Tilman Döbler and Nicolette Krebitz carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Their adventure is the destination.".
10IMDB entry: tt3823116 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Original score: Éric Neveux
Editing: Reza Memari
Runtime: 85 min · 1h 25m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $14,400,000
Original language: DE
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: A Stork's Journey (2017)

Part of

A Stork's Journey Collection

The story of Richard, a sparrow adopted by a stork family, as he travels through his adventures.

Also by

Toby Genkel

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-02-24
★ 6/10
Sparrow “Richard” has been brought up by a family of storks firmly believing that he is one of them, just a bit different. When his family plan to migrate, though, they don’t intend on taking him with them and so the poor wee critter awakens one morning to find mum, dad and brother “Max” have set off and left him behind. Desolate, he sets off after them towards Africa. It’s going to be a tough challenge on his own, but luckily he has his scatty friend “Olga/Oleg” - an owl with a pretend friend, and the self-adoring parakeet “Kiki” who thinks he’s really Donna Summer. Their journey is riddled with dangers but also with opportunities to meet new friends and do some self-discovering along the way. Can he catch up with his family though? Well no, this isn’t really very original nor is there an whole heap of jeopardy as the film progresses, but there are still some fun characters and the disco-bird has a few good lines as it builds to a denouement with a fearsome honey badger. It’s a story about not judging a book by it’s cover and though a bit long and maybe just a bit prone to some (negative) male stereotypes, it’s still quite an enjoyable animation that moves along fine.

Production companies