The Wild is an enjoyable 3D animated movie that follows a traditional Disney storyline of a father rescuing his son, with the son rediscovering his relationship with his father. This time the father / son duo are the lions Samson (voiced by Keifer Sutherland) and Ryan (Greg Cripes). Samson is famed in the zoo they live in for his mighty roar. Ryan’s roar is rather less successful, more of a squeak really. Samson regales his son with epic adventure stories from the wild in an attempt to help him discover his roar, but predictably just ends up causing Ryan to be more and more frustrated. Finally Ryan decides that the only way for him to become a real lion like his father is to travel to the wild himself… and that’s where all the fun begins…
This may sound very much like last year’s Madagascar, but apart from superficial plot similarities there really isn’t much similarity between them. The characters here are a little more developed, though there’s still room for improvement in that area, but the overall plotting and characterisation is far superior in this film. Compared to the best PIXAR movies it still lacks something as regards different levels of viewer involvement, there are few jokes here that even younger ones wouldn’t understand. However there is enough inventiveness shown in the portrayal of different characters, and enough surprises just when you thought it was getting predictable (look out for the dung beetles in one scene!) to make it so enjoyable that the lack of more adult-oriented jokes didn’t seem a problem. (The choreographed buffalo alone were worth watching the movie for.) It had a predictably feel-good storyline but to me that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
With the quality of computer animation in the big studios these days it almost seems pointless saying it’s good. The Wild certainly looks impressive, perhaps the characters themselves are a tad less detailed than they could be but that’s really trying to find fault with it. The visuals are great throughout, and the most impressive sequences occur when Samson relates his stories from the wild, where the action is portrayed as a dream sequence with heavily stylised creatures. The music is good throughout the movie and the voice acting top notch. (James Belushi, Eddie Izzard, William Shatner, and Janeane Garofalo are among those who lent their voice talents to this movie.) Not all of the characters were particularly interesting it has to be said, but the rough, tough (and, it has to be said, cowardly) koala bear who grew up in the back streets of London and the plucky, level-headed squirrel (who happens to love a giraffe… but other than that he’s level headed) are the glue that hold the movie together.
The thread running through from the beginning of the cuddly toy based on Nigel, the koala, is only moderately funny to begin with but takes on an unexpected significance towards the end of the movie. Overwise the humour is pretty much instantaneous and not the sort that builds up over the course of a movie. There are a lot of moments that will make you smile, and quite a few that will have you laughing out loud. Needless to say, kids will love it unless they’re not old enough to realise that they’re not too old to enjoy cartoons. :-D
Overall, The Wild is very enjoyable, suitable for all ages, frequently funny, and leaves you feeling all warm and squishy inside. What more could you really want from an animated movie? Not quite as good as the similarly themed (in terms of father-son rescue-relationship) Finding Nemo, but not all that far off.
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