- Ryan, a lion cub, worships his father, Sampson (Kiefer Sutherland), the brawny, brave, uncontested king of a New York City zoo. The film opens as Ryan listens adoringly as Sampson recounts yet another tale of roaring wildebeests into submission on the African savannah. While the zoo animals cavort, Ryan slips into a metal crate bound overseas for a chance to see “the wild” for himself. Now Sampson
Go wild with the hysterical adventure the New York Daily News calls “truly infectious!” Disney uncages the laughs in the hip and hilarious comedy THE WILD. When a band of furry friends escape from the city zoo, they discover that New York City is the biggest, craziest jungle of all. Now, faced with a new journey and the challenge of a lifetime, they must work together if they are going to survive on the outside. THE WILD is ferocious fun that will have your whole family roaring with laughter.A cuddly koala who wants to be fierce, a squirrel in love with a sarcastic giraffe, an addle-pated anaconda, and a lion with a secret set off from their cozy zoo to rescue the lion’s adolescent cub from an accidental kidnapping. After braving the dangers of the big city and stealing a boat, they find themselves in the African jungle, where a renegade herd of wildebeest have decided they want to change their position on the food chain (understandable, really). The Wild is hodgepodge–it’s never clear why these mismatched creatures are friends and plot elements seem haphazardly plucked from Finding Nemo, Madagascar, and Ice Age: The Meltdown (though the latter two were made at the same time as The Wild, so it’s just unfortunate for this movie that they came out first). Despite a general air of manic desperation, The Wild does have its strengths: The animation is richly realistic, leading to some gorgeous depictions of light (not exactly a selling point for kids, but adults can appreciate it). Several characters pop out–a pair of sewer crocodiles sound like NPR’s Car Talk guys; William Shatner (Star Trek, Boston Legal) is effectively scary as the cult-leader/choreographer of the wildebeest; and comedian Eddie Izzard lends some of his trademark smart and silly humor to Nigel, the disgruntled koala bear. Successful bits and pieces don’t make for a great movie, but they keep The Wild from the brink of disaster. –Bret Fetzer
Related Blogs
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- Wild Prediction: Max Scherzer's ERA
March 9, 2010
#1
Anyone fell asleep like I did watching this? Give me a break. I remember when paramount trying to compete against disney with the movie deep impact and then after, Armageddon with disney. Now the animations are fighting against each other. Madagascar, the Wild? same movie? Least Disney has more to their name to get people to come to them. I am just waiting for dreamworks to come out with a movie like disneys cars, only call it TRUCKS lol but what dreamworks has against disney is SHREK. But one day disney will come up with something to compare with.
March 9, 2010
#2
this sounds too close to madagascar. that movie was great but this sounds like a rip-off!!
March 9, 2010
#3
We took our two and a half year old to see this movie thinking that it was going to be like Madagascar or Over the Hedge. My husband and I were both shocked at the amount of violence. The bad guys were terrifying: rabid dogs roaming the streets of New York, wildebeests gone carnivore, and a raving lunatic koala bear…
We left before it got worse…but my son still woke that night having nightmares about the wildebeests.
March 9, 2010
#4
Ice Age, Finding Nemo, Shrek, The Lion King, A Bug’s Life, Monsters Inc…and the list would go on…but nowhere, in this list, would you see “The Wild”. Why? Well, because, it isn’t good enough!!
The problem with this film is that it’s just okay. Which is not good as it is, but specially so, because other animattion-ventures preceding it have been superb.
It lacks originality and great humour- which are the hallmarks of recent animation blockbusters. It isn’t really that funny- a few laughs, perhaps, but the rest will make just kids giggle. And the story has so many elements that seem borrowed from various films…The Lion King, Ice Age, Madagascar…
The film is essentially and apparently meant for the little ones- and that’s fine, if that is what it is meant to be. Good animation, decent characters (the Kwala Bear is pretty good!), a song here and there, a moral lesson too…’nice’ is a nice word to describe it. However, it is not the Great Animation Film Which Everybody Can Enjoy and Laugh out Loud With.
The story, briefly: A little lion in the zoo wants to be able to roar like his father does, who claims he came from the Wild. He’s upset and by error, gets transported away from the zoo. The father, alonwith a group that looks hideously like Madagascar, sets out to find him (oooh oooh Add Finding Nemo to that list above). In the process, there comes in a group of wilderbiest that is fed up with being eaten by lions…and wanna get to the top of the foodchain and they believe that the Kwala is their leader…funny.
All in all, the film is good for smaller children.
March 9, 2010
#5
I loved, loved, loved this movie. It is a great story about friendship and how different people can grow in different ways. And for comic relief, David Schwimmer is fantastic as the hypochondriac giraffe. SPOILER ALERT –I love the solution at the end, with the Penguins saving the day with sushi — and how Marty the zebra wouldn’t turn his back on his friend, even if it meant risking his own life. Fun, funny and furry!