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Movies / On DVD / The Wild
The Wild

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The Wild (2006)

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Reviews Counted:109

Fresh:20

Rotten:89

Average Rating:4.5/10

Consensus: With a rehashed plot and unimpressive animation, there’s nothing wild about The Wild.

Rated: U

Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Theatrical Release:26-05-2006

Synopsis: 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... 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, with the help of his loyal friends Benny the squirrel (James Belushi), Nigel the koala bear (Eddie Izzard), Bridget the giraffe (Janeane Garafalo), and Larry the snake (Richard Kind), must brave the New York City jungle and then the actual jungle to save his son from the clutches of a crazed wildebeest with aspirations to carnivorousness (William Shatner). To make things worse, Sampson confesses that his heroic stories were fabrications; he's completely lost in his wild surroundings, unable to fight off a rabid poodle or eat a sassy hyrax. Since ANTZ hit the cineplexes in 1993, computer-animated films about chatty animals have proliferated, but THE WILD is perhaps the first that is heavily influenced by its immediate predecessors, taking a little plot from MADAGASCAR, adding healthy doses of the ICE AGE films, and borrowing heavily from the father-son sentiments of THE LION KING (the animals actually pass a Times Square theater playing THE LION KING). However, originality isn't the draw here: it's the world-class voice-acting by Hollywood heavies, and the non-stop slapstick antics that will have children screaming with delight. Amid all the ridiculousness, parents will appreciate the wry asides by Eddie Izzard's koala bear. [More]

Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Jim Belushi, Eddie Izzard, Janeane Garofalo

Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Jim Belushi, Eddie Izzard, Janeane Garofalo, William Shatner, Richard Kind, Greg Cipes, Colin Hay, Miles Marisco, Jack De Sena

Director: Steve "the Spaz" Williams

Director: Steve "the Spaz" Williams
Studio: Buena Vista Pictures

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Reviews for The Wild

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41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Impressive animation, but too much déjà vu here.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
04/15/06
Betty Jo Tucker
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Pleasant enough for the little ones, but unrewarding for the rest of the prospective audience.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
04/15/06
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

A hit-and-occasionally-miss journey.

Full Review Source: Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas) | comment Comment
04/14/06
Mark Collette
Mark Collette
Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)

The movie could have been a delicious bonbon; instead, it is a can of corn.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
04/14/06
Pam Grady
Pam Grady
Reel.com

The Wild offers consistent laughs, with fresh characters and writing -- and features a much stronger second act. (Madagascar ran noticeably out of steam at the half-way point, when the animals hit the wild).

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
04/14/06
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Spaz Williams, no spaz, has the current prevailing formula nailed. Which is: Keep it moving constantly; heaps of bold color and diagonally extreme action; snappy quips and snarks for everyone; traumas immediately pacified by cute and/or musical moments.

Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
04/14/06
David Elliott
David Elliott
San Diego Union-Tribune

As a movie that kids will enjoy with a few adult-oriented gags to keep parents from going completely insane with boredom, The Wild accomplishes its unambitious mission.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
04/14/06
Peter Hartlaub
Peter Hartlaub
San Francisco Chronicle

A bulky, uneven script with too many narrative cul de sacs (including a pointlessly lengthy curling match at the zoo) makes it hard to stay interested in The Wild.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
04/14/06
Tom Keogh
Tom Keogh
Seattle Times

Technically, The Wild is impressive. Until you realize that the lifelike animated fur is the product of more professional care than the script.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
04/14/06
Geoff Pevere
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star

Gags consistently trump character. And if you don't care about the characters, then everything's just a big, dumb joke.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
04/14/06
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

The Wild may just be the most wildly derivative animated movie in ages.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
04/14/06
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today

Kids under 6 will dig it -- though the alligators and wildebeests might scare them. Certainly they scared this groan-up.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
04/14/06
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer

Watching this uninspired rehash of other movies, one realizes that Disney's move to install Pixar's John Lasseter as its new head of animation has not come a moment to soon.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment Comment
04/14/06
Gary Thompson
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News

Amid the recycled situations and characters, only a pair of very Noo Yawk alligators gets genuine laughs -- and they're gone in less time than it takes to escort a toddler out of the theater for a wee-wee.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
04/14/06
Steve Schneider
Steve Schneider
Orlando Weekly

So what if the story, once they get to Africa, is no better than Madagascar? It's hard to let wild predators do wild things when those wild things involve killing the other furry friends.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
04/14/06
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

With blah CG animation and scattershot punchlines, the movie fails to beat mediocrity.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
04/14/06
Lisa Rose
Lisa Rose
Newark Star-Ledger

These films take years to produce, so The Wild isn't exactly a ripoff -- but it isn't exactly fun, either.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
04/14/06
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post

The Wild isn't stuffed with pop references for bored parents, as Madagascar was, but its juvenile spirit is truly infectious.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
04/14/06
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News

There's a definite sense of deja vu about this animated adventure/fantasy that turns out to be mild, not wild.

Full Review Source: Modamag.com | comment Comment
04/14/06
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
Modamag.com

Storywise, The Wild is the most disappointing studio-level entry so far.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
04/14/06
Peter Debruge
Peter Debruge
Miami Herald
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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