Plot
In New England, anxious Mack Mallard discourages his children Dax and Gwen from venturing beyond their home Moosehead Pond, to the displeasure of his wife Pam. One day, the pond is visited by a flock of ducks who are migrating south to Jamaica. After Mack initially refuses to migrate, a disappointed Pam tells Mack that he must open his eyes to the world before he misses the opportunity. That night, Mack decides to let his family migrate after being persuaded by Uncle Dan, who also joins them. As they begin their journey, the Mallards discover that they are flying in the opposite direction.
During a thunderstorm, they take shelter in a swamp underneath a boardwalk where they encounter elderly great blue heron Erin, who invites them to spend the night with her and her husband Harry in their shack. Despite the herons' frightening countenances, Erin proves their good intentions by saving Dax and Gwen from a catfish that almost swallows them whole. The next day after leaving the swamp, the Mallards arrive in New York City where Uncle Dan gets them in trouble with a flock of pigeons, led by the pugnacious Chump. Pam defuses the situation, and Chump introduces them to her friend Delroy, a homesick scarlet macaw from Jamaica who is caged by a cruel human chef that kidnapped him from his home. Despite Dax's plea to help get the key, Mack and Pam infiltrate the restaurant where the chef works to acquire the key to Delroy's cage and manage to free him; he guides them to Jamaica in return.
While Gwen stops for a bathroom break, the group finds an entrance to a resort inhabited by pekins. They enjoy the resort until Dax discovers it is a duck farm, with the chef from the restaurant earlier being its current client to purchase the pekins for food. Mack tells Dax to go back to Pam, but he instead alerts the pekins in order to help save them. However, he loses his wing feathers after being stepped on by the chef, rendering him flightless while Mack saves him. The family, Delroy, and the pekins narrowly escape the farm. They stop at a seaside motel to rest, where Mack sternly scolds Dax for disobeying him and putting his life at risk, upsetting Dax.
Later after the sun sets, the chef catches up and finds the birds via helicopter, capturing them all except for Dax and Gwen, who hide. Inside the helicopter, the chef intends to kill Mack and Pam first as revenge, putting them both in a smaller, separate cage. Feeling hopeless and fearing the kids are lost, Pam begins regretting their migration until Mack bolsters her confidence, knowing she never gave up on anything, especially on him. Using a salsa dance they did back at the restaurant, and with Delroy and Uncle Dan's assistance, Mack and Pam try to reach a button to open the larger cage the others are trapped in, but the chef catches them in the act. A vengeful Delroy, aided by Uncle Dan and the pekins, pelts the chef with food as payback until he is knocked unconscious, hitting the trapdoor button as he, along with Mack and Pam, fall out. The chef gets caught in the cargo net, while the caged Mack and Pam continue to fall until Dax and Gwen save them, after Dax had used Delroy's discarded feathers to repair his wings. Mack and Dax reconcile while Delroy, Uncle Dan, and the pekins escape by breaking through their cage.
Now led by Dax, the birds arrive in Jamaica, where Delroy reunites with his family and friends while the Mallards catch up with the duck family who visited their pond earlier. Mack thanks Pam for helping him open his eyes to the world, and the birds soon dance in celebration. The following spring, the Mallards meet a group of Emperor penguins, whom they help bring back to the South Pole as the Mallards set off on another adventure.
