The Wild (2006)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Steve 'Spaz' Williams

Writers:

Ed Decter (screenplay) &
John J. Strauss (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

14 April 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

Tagline:

A whole new breed of tourist.

Plot:

An adolescent lion is accidentally shipped from the New York Zoo to Africa. Now running free, his zoo pals must put aside their differences to help bring him back.

Plot Keywords:

Africa | Zoo | Volcano | Animal | Lion

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Kiefer Sutherland	...	Samson (voice)
James Belushi	...	Benny (voice) (as Jim Belushi)
Eddie Izzard	...	Nigel (voice)
Janeane Garofalo	...	Bridget (voice)
William Shatner	...	Kazar (voice)
Richard Kind	...	Larry (voice)
Greg Cipes	...	Ryan (voice)
Colin Hay	...	Fergus Flamingo (voice)
Miles Marsico	...	Duke (voice)
Jack De Sena	...	Eze (voice)
Don Cherry	...	Penguin MC (voice)
Christian Argueta	...	Hamir (voice)
David Cowgill	...	Hamir (voice)
Lenny Venito	...	Stan (voice)
Joseph Siravo	...	Carmine (voice)

Also Known As:

La vie sauvage (Canada: French title)
The Big Break (USA) (working title)
Wildlife (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

Philippines:82 min | USA:94 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby SR

Certification:

USA:G | Hong Kong:I | Netherlands:MG6 | UK:U | Ireland:G | Singapore:G | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Malaysia:U | Brazil:Livre | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Germany:o.Al. | Finland:K-7 | Iceland:L | Denmark:7 | Norway:7 | Sweden:7 | South Korea:All | Canada:G (all jurisdictions) | France:U

Company:

C.O.R.E. Feature Animation

Trivia:

Two boats in the New York harbor scene, "The Lily Maia" and the "Nicolai" are named after production designer Chris Farmer's daughter Lily and the producer's son Nick.

Goofs:

Factual errors: After Benny has landed on the boat and Larry asks Samson if they're going to the wild, Larry pulls the throttle backwards. This would put the engines in reverse, yet in the film the boat continues going forwards and picks up speed.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Samson: So there I was, face to face with the biggest, meanest leopard on the savannah and...
Ryan: You roared so loud, his spots flew off. Dad I've heard that story a billion times.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs A Chorus Line (1985)

Soundtrack:

Really Nice Day (Finale)

Fun, funny and adolescent-friendly

Saw a preview screening last night, and it was really fun. First, the movie is visually gorgeous. The texture (hair especially!) work alone is enough to recommend the film to animation enthusiasts. To all the comparisons with Madagascar I will add that The Wild is much funnier. And judging by the 10-year-olds sitting with me, kids will love it. As the movie was made by C.O.R.E. in Toronto, was directed by a Canadian, and stars a lot of Canadians -- there are a few Canadian jokes (and sports) in the movie that international viewers might miss. It also has a fun self-referential attitude in the humor that's enjoyable without becoming gimmicky. To build on the previous poster, it is not Citizen Kane -- but has much funnier animals. It's a movie that does what it sets out to do -- entertain you. And it does that very well.