The Wild dvd movie.|
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Features • NTSC In Theaters : 14 April, 2006 |
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The Wild description 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 |
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| ♥♥♥♥♥ | Great for Kids; Parents Will Get a Laugh or Two |
| I liked this movie as a light comedy. The movie was cute and remarkably clever in several places. However, the movie follows a Disney trend in that the movie is more oriented for children than adults. So, while there were parts of the movie that I enjoyed, in general my thought was, "Ho, hum."
Samson the lion (Kiefer Sutherland) is the "king" of the zoo. Samson is a leader at the zoo, and seems to always be in control and to know the right thing to do. Son Ryan (Greg Cipes) is at that awkward age where he wants to be more like dad, but he still has a lot of experience to gain first. Ryan accidentally ends up in a truck trailer heading to Africa. Samson, Benny the manic squirrel (Jim Belushi), Bridget the giraffe (Janeane Garofalo), Nigel the Koala (Eddie Izzard), and Larry the Snake (Richard Kind) mount a rescue mission to save Ryan. The journey takes the group through the wilds of the city to the real wild of the African jungle, where they meet a crazy wildebeest named Kazar (William Shatner). Troubles abound for the group as they face an array of animals and natural disasters while trying to return safely to their zoo home. The biggest problem this movie has is that it is a "me too" movie. I have watched "Ice Age" movies, "The Lion King," "Happy Feet," and many more. After a while, the whole "animals off on a quest" plot gets to be a little old. Fortunately, there is enough comedy in this movie to keep this movie from being a waste of time. Nigel the Koala is sarcastic and hilarious. Larry the snake is dopey and adds a different kind of humor. Benny is frenetic and typically funny. The other positive thing is that this movie is very family friendly (as long as the adults can keep from nodding off). Since this movie is at the tail end of a long list of movies with similar themes, I am not sure what this movie could have done better, except being released a few years from now. There is good comedy and characterizations. The story is weak, but how complicated can you make a story about rescuing a child? The child is lost, go find him and bring him home. I hope that the current lengthy list of movies using animated animals will end. Then I will pull this one back off the shelf and give it another chance. Good Luck! |
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