Passable

Rating: 5/10 (14 January 2007)

Although nothing innovative, this movie is a decent matinée ticket for an afternoon rental when you've got nothing better to do. It's yet another CGI animated animals' adventure, with the usual name stars doing manic voices for silly characters. It's been done many times before, but this movie does manage to find a few variations to the stock formula. This time out, a bunch of animals in a city zoo learn of a mystical place called "The Wild," and try to escape their sheltered existence for this promised land. Through a series of odd mishaps, they're soon on their way to where the movie's title suggests.
The movie has a few workable sight gags, and the voice talents (especially Chris Rock and Cedrick the Entertainer) seem to be having a lot of fun with their roles. However, the movie's single joke premise does not bear the weight of the movie too well. Everything is predictable, and you find yourself guessing how long it'll be before certain obvious events take place. There are plenty of amusing characters; the penguins are probably the funniest, with the native king's "Move It" song a high point too. The animation seems hokey for the main character, but it's not clear if this was intentional as a joke or just lazy artistry. Several portions of the film are too slow for a family movie.
This is not to say the movie isn't fun, because it certainly has its moments, and is good for a fair number of laughs. As CGI films go, the movie runs about the middle of the pack, and serves for one viewing. It's nowhere near the league of a Shrek or Nemo, but, on the other hand, it's superior to some of the recent CGI films that have been churned off an assembly line.