When a snake attack threatens his species with extinction, a sheltered kangaroo rat must embark on a perilous journey to unite his colony with another, 250 kilometers away.

To be honest I hadn't even thought of that. Perhaps...

Veagle was the name I gave them too! His backstory: He was captured by humans and kept illegally as a pet- had his wings clipped and can no longer fly. He escapes and comes across the hero in a moment of need. Due to his bad experience at the hands of humans he becomes a kind of 'right on, meat is murder' type character, although his animalistic instincts do creep in from time to time and he has to really restrain from eating the hero (he has his own mission to find the golden eagles as well)

Always love a crazy elder!

Bug's Life came to mind for me too.

Vegan eagle (veagle?) is nice but I wonder if it's straying a little close to the vegetarian sharks in Finding Nemo.

My thinking for the hero's mission- he has to persuade a group of golden eagles to fly the remaining colony south on their upcoming migration (the eagles would much rather eat them all)