‘The Wild’ packs too tame a bite
Of all the criteria I employ while reviewing a film, originality is a main one. Unfortunately, “The Wild” suffers either bad timing, or unabashed copycatting. That alone would be allowable, but most elements of this film felt blasé. The visuals of this digitally animated film are great to see, but otherwise, “The Wild” has little bite.
As many have pointed out, this movie’s story is a cross between “Madagascar” and “Finding Nemo.” A group of animals at the New York City Zoo share an unconventional friendship (hey, there’s “Ice Age” too!). A koala bear, a boa constrictor, a giraffe, a squirrel and a Lion, to be exact. Of these characters, two are semi-memorable. The British-native koala bear is voiced by the very funny Eddie Izzard, and the squirrel voiced by everyman James Belushi. Though the two portray strong personality, they feel out of place, as if they wandered in from a Nick Park short.
Of course, the protagonist of the film is Samson, a paternal lion whose priority is teaching his son Ryan how to roar and be a lion proper. Samson is voiced by Kiefer Sutherland, who does, I think, a fine job. But the dialogue and story dampen the possibilities talent like him may afford.
The plot goes something like this: Ryan, tired of falling short of his dad’s expectations, wanders off and gets taken to a boat headed for an exotic location. Determined to get his son back, Samson, along with the aforementioned entourage, travels the ‘wild’ of the city to rescue his son. They all eventually end up in the true wild, where danger ensues.
Again, this is unsubtly similar to the “Madagascar” film. One critic dubbed this film “Badagascar.” To compare the two, “Madagascar” succeeds in utilizing “Looney Toone” slaptick and animation, while ‘The Wild’ goes for a very realistic look. And to its credit some scenes are impressively rendered. This is probably due to the fact that its director, Steve Williams comes from a visual effects background.
But the writers should have been more original. There are about four writers attached to this film, and among their credits were “The Santa Clause 2” and “Rebound.” These movies, just like “The Wild,” are unimpressive. One misstep, I think, is in the choice to make dialogue so grown up. Not only that, but for this adult, it just wasn’t that great.
This movie was hard for me to sit through. Some could argue that although the filmmaking elements are sub-standard, this is a kid’s movie that is at least pretty innocent. I’ll concede that the theme is uplifting and positive, yet I can’t recommend this film. The story is unoriginal, and the characters underdeveloped. Next time, guys, make a movie with some discipline, instead of reckless abandon.
Chris Blakesley is a film critic for the Utah Statesman. Comments and questions can be sent to him at
cblakes@cc.usu.edu.