Awful for parents- not terrible for kids

Rating: 3/10 (6 July 2012)

This review contains spoilers, not that there's anything to spoil, really.
Generally when I see a kids' movie with my kids, I find it tolerable and sometimes enjoyable. I still laugh at Spongebob episodes that I've seen a hundred times, if that tells you anything about my tastes. Most kids' movies throw in some humor for adults- not referring to inappropriate humor, just cultural references or something that gives adults a tickle that kids don't really understand.
Not this movie. This movie makes no attempt to appeal to adults at all. There was not a single moment where I laughed or was amused. I found all of the over-the-top accents kind of disrespectful, and I could not figure out why a kids' movie had three animal pairs with love stories. The plot was an absolute mess. They did manage to work in some happenings that gave my 4 year old and 6 year old some thrills- rocket shoes, shooting out of cannons, a very colorful circus. However, I was left wondering what kind of drugs the filmmakers were on while they wrote this, and I was also left thinking that the animators worked really hard but the writers, directors, producers, whoever REALLY phoned it in. I mean REALLY. It was an awful script. David Schwimmer should not be voicing anything, and I'm really not there to watch a lion and a leopard fall in love, and neither are my kids. Also, why the heck doesn't the bear ever talk?
As for kids, my kids didn't hate it, but they didn't love it either. My little one laughed about four times, which was far less than the number of times he said he wanted to leave the movie (but we were stuck because we'd driven with friends).
My recommendation to parents is if your kids absolutely insist on seeing this movie, send them with their friends' parents so you don't have to go. Otherwise, your eyes will be rolling so hard they may get stuck that way.