The Wild
Tags: flashback

Plot synopsis:
In Central Park Zoo, Samson the Lion tells his 11-year-old son Ryan stories of his adventures in the wild. That night, when the zoo closes, all the animals are free to roam. Samson, along with his friends Benny, Bridget, Larry, and Nigel compete in a turtle curling championship while Ryan is with his friends. Ryan accidentally causes a stampede which head to the game. Samson and Ryan have a falling-out and Ryan storms off before Samson can apologize. Ryan wanders into a green box and gets shipped away by a truck, which the legend tells will take him to the wild. With the help of a pigeon, Hamir, Samson and Benny go after him, sneaking into a garbage disposal truck with Nigel, Larry, and Bridget coming as well, accidentally throwing Benny off the truck. After passing through Times Square and nearly being crushed in the garbage disposal, the group encounters a pack of rabid stray dogs. Samson leads them through the sewer rather than scaring them off. There, they take directions to the docks from two street wise alligator brothers, Stan and Carmine. The next morning, the four friends steal a tugboat during a hectic escape from New York harbor. With help from Larry, they drive the boat and reunite with Benny, who has enlisted a flock of Canada geese to help lead the crew in the right direction of Ryan's ship. Days later, Nigel goes mad and, under the impression they have hit an iceberg, jumps overboard.
The boat runs aground in Africa, where the group quickly discover that all the animals in the area are being evacuated by the carriers, as a nearby volcano erupts. They witness Ryan escaping, but he runs into the jungle. Samson attempts to find him, but it is quickly revealed that he has in fact never been in the wild before after trying to eat a rude Hyrax. The rest of the group head back to the ship, but Samson decides to keep trying to find his son. While walking, Samson starts seeing plants and rocks change colors. Nigel is captured by a group of wildebeests who dwell in the volcano, and their leader Kazar, pronounces him 'The Great Him', based on an 'omen' he received when he was young: about to be devoured by lions, a toy koala fell from the sky (actually from a plane) and scared the lions away, saving his life. Kazar wants to change the food chain; he would rather see "prey become predators" and vice versa. For this, he needs to eat a lion. Bridget and Larry are also captured and held prisoner.
Ryan hides up an old tree, but is attacked by a gang of vultures led by Scraw and Scab acting under orders from Kazar. The branch breaks and traps his paw. Samson hears Ryan's cries and runs to save him, scaring off the birds. The two reunite, but are interrupted by a herd of wildebeests. Ryan is shocked when Samson tells him to run. The two retreat to a tree where Samson reveals the truth. He was born in the circus and like Ryan, was unable to roar. One night, he was forced to appear in a show with the intent of him roaring at a mechanical bull, but cowered in fear to the disappointment of the audience. Later, his rude, selfish, derivative, hateful and possibly abusive father allowed him to be sent to the zoo, claiming that if he was a real lion he would know how to roar, where he became an orphan and lied to avoid the shame. The wildebeests discover them and, in the scuffle, send the tree over the cliff, with Samson still hanging on. Ryan is captured and taken to the volcano.
Benny finds Samson and encourages him to be himself, even if he's not from the wild. They find two chameleons, who were leading Samson to the volcano and are also trying to defeat Kazar's army of his kind. Samson uses the chameleons' camouflage abilities to slip into Kazar's lair. Nigel tries his best to stall the wildebeests from cooking his friends, and eventually Samson fights Kazar but is overwhelmed. Ryan, seeing Samson in danger, climbs onto a catapulting device and launches himself at Kazar, finally letting out a roar. With Kazar distracted, Samson manages to defeat him. Ryan tells Samson that he is happy to have him for a dad. The other wildebeests are touched by this and refuse to serve Kazar any further. Samson gains the courage he has needed and roars powerfully enough to push back a charging Kazar. The animals, along with the wildebeests flee except Kazar, who is trapped in the erupting volcano. The animals manage to escape on the boat and travel back to the New York Zoo.

Review: At first, this appears to be a rip-off of "Madagascar," with New York City zoo animals leaving the comforts of "home" for the wilds of Africa.
However, it is a totally different story and feel to it, more serious and sentimental than "Madagascar." Personally, I like "serious and sentimental" but not in animated movie, at least not to the degree it was in here.
Similar to Madagascar but not the same this is the story of a zoo lion and his friends who race off to save the lion's son who has been shipped back to the wild.
Izzard's Nigel will probably go down in history as one of the great cartoon characters of all time.This is a movie with fantastic animation.
Its sad but as alive the actors are their animated characters, while looking good, come across as dead constructs.Still the movie is worth seeing.
Oh, for sure, this IS a comment about "The Wild", but it is very important to realize that the same basic idea, runaway animals from a zoo park, can become a wonderful movie or a complete disaster!
Straight to the point, here is what you will (or would) get in "The Wild":1) The story is boring: some people claimed that in "Madagascar" there was no reason for the animals to run away.
They were worst than the score of "Anastasia" (you know, songs thrown in just to extend the length of the weak plot and to cover bad lines).3) The characters have no charisma: in "Madagascar", the animals cared about one another, for they were friends.
The movie is so pathetic that they tried to make fun with a dung-beetle (not a smart-line beetle like in "Ice Age 2", but a dumb one to "laugh about it, not with it").There are many other mistakes in this movie, which completely obfuscate any good thing it may have.
The Wild reminded me of how creative Disney can be and the amazing skill they bring to the table In short, give this movie a chance and it will not disappoint you.
I also initially wondered why they would copy Madagascar (which I didn't find very good)...I came away with the realization that it's a very different and way better movie with only the basic premise bearing somewhat of a resemblance (not unlike many kid's films and the "formula" that seems to be used).I found the film hilarious and had a great time watching my kids get such a kick out of it as well.
The animation is absolutely incredible and this was a great escape for me and my kids (10 and 7)...if I could only get my 7 year old to stop continually quoting Nigel the Koala then all would be well...I read a few reviews which panned this flick.
Disney seem to reuse their characters, and follow a somewhat same storyline, like their previous movies.The storyline goes that the cub, Ryan was fed-up being compared to his Dad, and wished to be in the wild.
The story do not have foul language, unlike Ice Age. The only drawback that this movie has it that the characters are very much alike the previous Disney movies such as Open Season and Madagascar.
I was concerned about the same thing that everyone else was.Is it going to be like Madagascar mixed with the same theme as Finding Nemo?To my surprise I did not even once think about either of those films while I was watching THE WILD.
I guess a lot of people refuse to admit they had a good time at a non-Pixar Disney film, or that they enjoyed a supposed kid film that didn't cater, on the side, to their adult tastes (read: a normal appetite for violence, off-colour jokes and bad language) but I know I did.
I especially liked the way the story-telling sequence at the beginning turned back into reality and the way some of the scenes resorted to magic realism (the festivities of the wildebeests), and a stylization that is a throwback to some of the best Disney animation (and maybe a lesson learned from "Ice Age").
Well I hired this film out yesterday along with two others and must admit i was expecting to be the same old stuff in Disney films, but i was pleasantly surprised.I thought it had good characters in and that the actors and actresses that did voice overs really took on the persona of the animal they were betraying and it made me laugh my favourite actor within film was Eddie izzard as he is so cool but saying that as i mentioned every one of them did good job.Where watching this film is concerned defiantely give it a go as i think many people will be surprised i have not seen Madagascar but think this was under rated due to them coming out around about the same time, i am definitely added this to my collection when i get time..
I really liked it, the story was simple but I wanted to see something uncomplicated and it was good for an animation movie.
Madagascar and The Wild are two completely different movies, so what if they're similar?
The animation in the Wild was far more better than in Madagascar, the plot was more exciting/funny and all in all it was a great movie.I think this movie is going to get a bad rating because of all the pathetic people complaining about rip offs.
I for one rate it above Madagascar and Finding Nemo which some people are comparing it too for some reason *is confused* In the short, it does not deserve the bad reports because it IS a good movie..
But compared to Chicken Little everything looks great I suppose.The bad thing about The Wild is the appearance of its characters.
So here's the good news: I think that viewers who liked Madagascar, will enjoy this movie too.
It lacked any plot line, the jokes just weren't funny, and the animals looked like something from a horror film.
It just so happens that Madasgascar was rushed and released before the wild, making Disney look like the bad guy.
Both films contain a group of animals escaping the New York Zoo to go to the wild.
I don't get it, Disney has some movies that are coming out later this year that will be good (Cars and Pirates of the Caribbean off the top of my head) so I don't see why they ripped themselves off with this one.
It's not like they need the money this bad, they make sequels to every movie that they have ever thought of (Sometimes more than 3 sequels to it) they should save the theaters for the actual GOOD ones.
The premise, if you strip it all down, is also about a group of animals from New York Zoo who made their way (so the motivations might differ slightly) to Africa, where they meet nasty native animals, and engage in plenty of mindless song and dance.The Wild also adapted a few more plot elements from its own library like The Lion King, and incorporated the father-son seeking acceptance relationship from last year's died-in-its- own-hype Chicken Little, and borrowed the "I am God, worship me" plot from Ice Age 2.
The joke on the Koala, while fun initially, was repetitive and you'll really want to kick and rip any Koala soft toy out there by the time you're true.The voice talents did a commendable job with the flimsy story, with the likes of Kiefer Sutherland, James Belushi, Janeane Garofalo, and even William Shatner grunting like animals.
Rip-off, since the story is identical, the characters are nearly identical, a la the lion who grew up in captivity and is too sophisticated to act like a wild lion, even down to the "zany sidekick with British accent" (the penguins in Madagascar vs.
Sure, the animation is great, and there are a few jokes, but that falls far short of justifying seeing this movie.
the effects blow "Finding Nemo" and "Shrek" away....from the shot of the city down to the hairs on the animals, every detail was carefully looked over...Eddie Izzard's character is so funny and the humor is really grown up and campy.....i didn't think there were any lulls in the storyline and the movie went by almost too quickly...We brought 2 kids with us (2 & 3) and here were some scary pars (the 3 year old covered his eyes by himself at one point) but they really enjoyed the movie....when i asked them what i thought they High-Fived me and told me they liked Samsone...too cute!My bf and i are gonna see it again when it comes out with a bunch of our friends...WE LOVED IT!!.
The best I could hope for was slightly above average, and unfortunately, I didn't even get that, even though it looked like I might around the beginning.Samson is a lion who lives in a zoo in New York and is the father of a cub named Ryan.
This is bad news for Disney since the novelty of the film's premise has already worn off following Madagascar.Of course, the story is infinitely more complex than 'zoo animals shipped off to Africa' if you want it to and indeed behind the surface of The Wild lies deeply-rooted father-son problems between Samson the lion and his cub Ryan.
For Disney to be releasing such a similar movie to Madagascar a year later on could turn out be be quite a disaster.
The plot is typical Disney and for such a short running time it suits children under 7 as they will be able to sit through it and will enjoy the occasional clumsy antics of the animals.
Ideas and scripts are touted round all the studios before they are bought, so it's not surprising that sometimes a company will set off down similar paths.So, after last year's Madagascar was a reasonable hit for Dreamworks, arch-rivals Disney have "independently" come up with this, The Wild.
The Wild is still a second-rate animated movie, clearly from the Disney half of the Disney-Pixar partnership.
Only this time he's a lion, of course.The film dallies too much with tired old psychobabble father-son nonsense, much in the same way that spoiled Chicken Little earlier this year.
"The Wild" was completely derivative, stealing stuff from a wide range of movies (most notably "Madagascar" and "Lion King").
The idea takes both Madagascar (Animals getting lose and running away) and Finding Nemo's (A dad looking for his son) plot's.
Now Disney is only making movies so they can rip off Dreamworks because that is an actual GOOD company.
I've always been a fan of Disney films, even though the main plot remains the same for most of their films - either older character doesn't believe in younger characters ability in something, then younger character proves his worth (chicken little, finding nemo etc) or an established character is threatened by the introduction of a new character (toy story, monsters inc).This film is no exception, but it is done so poorly that i cannot accept it as a good film this time.
I found it to be a big clone of Madagascar, finding nemo and lion king, and also ice age (the dancing bit, Eddie izzard's character's likeness to Sid the sloth and the overall nature of the journey made in "the wild").
The story alone is so much better, the voice actors, for the most part, far better suited to the roles they play (of course the fact that chris rock, the lamest excuse for an actor since ronny raygun, isn't in The Wild makes it a better film by default) not to mention the fact that the animation is light years ahead of Madagascar.
I took my kids (7 & 5) to see the film on Mother's Day. I really didn't expect much from the previews, but have a high regard for Disney movies, and chose the film specifically for the G-rating.I could not have been more disappointed -- it ain't Pixar quality, that's for sure!
Comments: If you want to go see a movie with your kids in the theaters right now go see "Ice Age 2" -- it's a much better film.
My wife and I found ourselves just enduring the film like the old kids movies used to be.
I think the last Disney movie that was good that was animated was Lilo and Stitch.
That's familiar.However, while Dreamwork's Madagascar was basically Seinfeld in the tropics, Disney's The Wild (scripted and in production at the same time) centers on Samson, a male lion in New York zoo who is raising a son on his own.
However, it is in one very important way almost completely the opposite of the Dreamworks movie - each has high and low points, but they are at opposing ends of each film.A regular criticism of Madagascar is that it has a great opening act, but the later scenes in the jungle is a huge disappointment.
One cannot help but feel iffy when seeing clips or screen shots, as the designs don't look like they can express much emotion, but when you see them in action it is amazing.I highly recommend this film to anyone who has an interest in children's movies.
My 3 year old was scared at some points; somehow Disney (or the company they use to make the movies; I can't keep track) only can build tension by loud, horror-like scenes.
Good movie but Madagascar is a lot better.
So what I'm saying is, if you're watching only a few (animated) pictures/films a year (even if it's with your kids), you can skip this one.
I had great hopes when I first went to watch this movie with my kids; we usually enjoy the same films in different ways.
While it may not be the most memorable or original animated feature (with elements from "Finding Nemo," "Madagascar," and "The Lion King!"), it's still a very cute and heartwarming family film.
As I have said many times I love animated films and I love Disney, and this did look interesting.
And while Maddagascar was a humorous movie and its characters were likable, it just didn't seem to be a good story, or a story that you can relate to your or your child's own life like The Wild seemed to portray.
Well, all animated movies I watch, I like.
In fact, it has broken a record: The very first animated movie I didn't like...well, aside from The Yu-Gi-Oh movie, an even worse movie.This film almost have the same plot as Madagascar, a funnier and better movie, with some Lion King added detail.
That's awesome!" All my friends kept telling me, that it won't be any better than Madagascar (which we unfortunately watched in the theater back in '05), and I told them: "No way, this movie's gotta be good, it has Kiefer Sutherland as a LION, man, how can this go wrong?" Well, sadly, it did go wrong.On the "+" side: + The animator and modeler guys did a great job.
I'm an adult who enjoyed MADAGASCAR as a fun, trivial afternoon romp and decided to give this one a shot because one review claimed THE WILD was better than that film.
The Wild has the story as if they have no idea what the kids is looking for in the storyline and therefore they cramp in a bunch of animal into the movie.
The first part of the movie tells the story of the life in the zoo, which is bitterly utterly boring; unfortunately also it took 1/3 time of the whole movie.The part of the movie came when the animal leave the zoo and the whole adventure begin and so is the joke and plot line and character development.
And when in the wild the funniness start to fall short again.One thing good about this movie is the animation which has been done brilliantly, somehow too good that the animal doesn't look as adorable as it should, somewhat creepy.Recommendation: I'm sorry to say all this but the movie fail terribly and with the same movie but brilliantly done (like Madagascar), who would want to look at this.Rating: 4/10 (Grade: D-).
The bad writing, the shabby characters, duplicating other movies or the same old bored to death while watching.First of all I always say the room of creativity in animation is infinite, still when Finding Nemo was released we got Sharks Tale, with Bugs Life we got Antz, now with Madagascar we got the Wild.
Am I the only one annoyed by all that, studios are literally burning their money by doing this.In the beginning when that big lion (I swear I just saw the movie and I don't remember his name) was telling his little kid about all that wild stories, I was excited, I loved the animation the looks of the character and the theme, a minute later that all changed, suddenly stuffed animals started to talk, with no expressions in their faces, A ZOO in NYC,, mmm where did I see that before???A squirrel loves a giraffe????
This film is funny at times, but ultimately is the byproduct of writers who are too scared to have a serious plot in a kid's movie.
I'm a Mom to a 3 year old so I see a lot of these animated movies and I really enjoyed "The Wild"!
Well, the movie has some good animated characters with some really cool work with it.
He alone kept me watching the film to the end.When the animals from the zoo finally make it to "the wild", the action picks up and Eddie Izzard really shines.
The story is just a bad combination of "Madagascar" and " Finding Nemo " that lacks of any of the good things of both movies .Are this guys serious ?