Disney's latest animated DVD release is nothing new ...
The Wild DVD Review
Cast (Voices)
Sampson the Lion – Kiefer Sutherland
Benny the Squirrel – James Belushi
Cloak and Camo the Chameleons – Chris Edgerly (Cloak) and Bob Joles (Camo)
Kazar the Wildebeest – William Shatner
Nigel the Koala – Eddie Izzard
Larry the Snake – Richard Kind
Bridget the Giraffe – Janeane Garofalo
Ryan the Adolescent Lion – Greg Cipes
Stan and Carmine the Alligators – Joseph Siravo (Stan) and Lenny Venito (Carmine)
DVD Information
Genre: Animation/Adventure/Comedy
Region: Region One (United States and Canada only)
Number of Discs: 1
Studio: Walt Disney Video
DVD Release Date: September 12, 2006
Run Time: 82 Minutes
Specs: Dolby Digital – English; English Subtitles; Full Screen (1.78:1)
“Dad, thanks for the technical help, but if you really wanted me to roar like you, you’d take me to the wild.”
- Ryan
Walt Disney’s latest animation to hit DVD, The Wild, can be summed up as a mix of Dreamworks’ Madagascar and Disney’s own The Lion King.
The movie starts off at the New York Zoo, with Sampson, the father lion, telling a story to his son, Ryan, about his time in the wild, scaring off a bunch of beasts with his vicious roar. He set the story up so that Ryan can do a roar of his own, but his comes out like weak roar instead, and the scene cuts to a view of them in the zoo with visitors pointing and laughing at Ryan.
Ryan wants to go to the wild, as he is bored at the zoo and wants to work on his roar there.
This basically sets the stage for what the rest of the movie will be about – Ryan attempting to get his roar to that of an adult stage, and being able to do that in the wild. And while there is a major twist along the way which impacts the relationship between Sampson and his son, a lie Sampson had been withholding from Ryan the whole time, this essentially mimics the plot of Madagascar.
Animal(s) in zoo want to leave zoo. Animals that left zoo are not accustomed to surroundings outside of zoo. Animals end up in area completely far off from zoo. With some help, animals conquer a major conflict in area completely far off from zoo. Animals go back to zoo.
It’s all relatively simple. It’s not to say that the storyline is horrible, but Disney could have been a little more creative. Some say this movie is Disney’s answer to Madagascar. I would be hard-pressed to disagree.
It has certain elements that give it its own merits, but even some of the animals used are the same. Both movies have lions as the main character and a giraffe as an accessory. Both movies even have one female voice in the main group.
With animations becoming more abundant, it would be nice to see a variety of stories. I felt like I had seen the basic premise of this movie before.
Also, humor seems very forced. The Wild might not be the only animation to do this, and I would not accuse it of such. But other than the hilarity of Eddie Izzard’s character, Nigel, I was not all that impressed with the rest of the comedy. It doesn’t help that none of the other voicers except for Richard Kind really have any good, comedic experience (no, Janeane Garofalo is not altogether that funny.) I’d be lying if I said I didn’t laugh. But it didn’t happen very much, and it was mostly because of Izzard.
The movie was also very rushed. Of course, this movie is intended for children, and children don’t do well with two+-hour movies. But the movie was around and hour and 15 minutes, and scenes seemed to go by rather quickly.
Not everything was bad with the movie, however, as there was some good in it.
As I just said, Izzard’s comedic background gives him major credibility for his part. Nigel’s character is very consistent with Izzard’s comedy, if you have ever seen anything he’s done, and that was certainly pleasing to see.
I thought the parts in Times Square, which occur right after an escape from the New York Zoo, are very visually pleasing. It’s kept very real to the actual Times Square, even having product placement style advertising almost of Toys ‘R Us and The Lion King on Broadway.
Overall, I think Disney would have benefited by going with a different premise. They borrowed ideas from one of their previous movies, and then seemed to copy over the basic underlying story from a competitor’s previous film. Animation needs to grow and evolve, not pluck plot from prior projects.
Sound
The sound is very good in the movie. Music is well used, and there are even some popular songs in there, including Coldplay. I think voices match the characters pretty well.
Score: 8.5
Visuals
Of course, with any animation these days, viewers are almost guaranteed to be astounded with the graphics they’re presented with. It’s definitely much cleaner than Madagascar. The animals are not meant to look real-to-life, but they get as close as possible without being too real. Plus, Times Square and the Statue of Liberty look great in animation, and even scenes in Africa look very well done.
Score: 9.5
Special Features
Deleted Scenes
All scenes have optional commentary from Director Steve “Spaz” Williams and Producer Clint Goldman.
Benny’s Weird Dream - In a scene that looks almost like it came out of a video game from an older 32-bit system (not completed movie animation), Benny dreams he is muscular and having a romantic experience with Bridget. :45
Bridget And Larry Doomed - After Nigel is declared the Great Him, it is revealed Larry and Bridget are being held captive in the volcano with the Wildebeests. :35
Back At The Zoo - Again, in uncompleted movie animation, Benny is back at the zoo and speaks to a female lion, which is interesting since she never appears in the actual film. Commentary reveals she is the mother. She convinces Benny to go back and help out the crew that had left the zoo. 1:00
Back On The Boat - Uncompleted movie animation again, and the crew minus Sampson are on the boat, upset at what the secret he had just revealed. They are discussing whether they should go back to the wild and help or just sail off back home. 1:16
Thumbman - On the boat on their way to the wild, Nigel has lost his mind and the rest of the crew is completely famished. This is shown as a mix of drawing (paper) and uncompleted movie animation. 1:10
Backstage Disney
Eddie Izzard Unleashed - This is a short clip of Eddie Izzard reading his lines, ad-libbing and screwing up included. 3:30
Meet Colin: The Rock Hyrax - The Hyrax is a weird animal met in the wild, and production crew is interviewed about the person that voices him, Colin, and his antics around work now that he’s a “big star.” 2:20
”Real Wild Child” Music Video Performed by Everlife – 3:30
The 411: I can definitely see how this movie would entertain kids, but in the grand scheme of animation films, it’s nothing spectacular. In fact, I feel like I’ve seen this movie before. Eddie Izzard is a saving grace, and the visual appeal of New York settings is attractive, but this is not a must see movie.
