Customer Reviews

The Wild [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

After going to "The Wild" this weekend with my two kids, I gotta say I don't understand all the bashing of Disney and this film? Maybe "The Wild" isn't on par with "The Lion King" or "Toy Story", but it's far from being a snoozer like "Chicken Little" or "Home on the Range". There may be similar characters in both "Madagascar" and "The Wild", but each film stands on it's own, and both are pretty enjoyable. "The Wild" was a lot of fun, had some laugh out loud moments, and featured some fantastic animation. The soundtrack was fun, and while the songs may be older, who cares, they fit the spirit of the movie. Eddie Izzard's koala bear steals the film, and had my son and daughter laughing all afternoon. I am not sure what some of these other movie goers were expecting from "The Wild" and why it was such a major disappointment, but I say that if you enjoyed "Madagascar" then you will like "The Wild" too. Anything featuring the voices of Keifer Sutherland and William Shatner is worth taking a look at.

They say Hollywood is a "race for second place," so you might say that DISNEY'S "THE WILD" is first to be second. Talking animals from an NYC zoo, ending up in an exotic foreign place, facing their fears to become better...talking animals. If this sounds familiar you may have already seen it DREAMWORKS' MADAGASCAR released less than a year ago. I'm not pointing fingers here, Disney has been supposedly working on this for 9 years, but THE WILD comes across as a "second-hand lion," watered down and "toothless."

The only differences, apart from the film and production company names, are style and voice casting. Whereas MADAGASCAR'S visual style is more cartoonish, THE WILD's approach is ultra-realistic in details. While Madagascar had characters voiced by Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and David Schwimmer, the voice casting for THE WILD is up to Disney's high standards: Respected leader SAMSON (guess HIS species) is voiced by Kiefer Sutherland , street savy Benny the Squirrel by Jim Belushi, dim-witted Larry the Snake by Richard Kind (of "the Producers") and Janeane Garofalo as Bridget the Giraffe. Don Cherry, Canadian hockey announcer cameos as the penguin MC. One possible breakout character is Nigel the British kolala, voiced by Eddie Fizzard, trying to shed his cuddly image, later becoming idol to a pack of wildebeests along with their choreographing leader dancing to the beat of different drum, Kazar, voiced brilliantly-straight by William Shatner (who provides voice for another animated animal in the upcoming "Over the Hedge.")

The WILD'S Director Steve Williams and producer Clint Goldman helped to revolutionize CG character animation during their long association with ILM ("The Mask," "Jurassic Park," "Terminator 2"), and were responsible for the popular Blockbuster commercials featuring Carl the rabbit and Ray the guinea pig. The film is scored by Academy-nominated composer Alan Silvestri ( known for the" Back to the Future Trilogy," and "Polar Express"), the soundtrack is also filled with familiar tunes by such r recording artists EVERLIFE, COLDPLAY, LIFEHOUSE, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Other new material provided by ex-"Monty Python" member Eric Idle and fellow songwriter John Du Prez, the team responsible for the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, "SPAMALOT" writing and performing the song, "Really Nice Day" for THE WILD.

As the animals embark on a dangerous journey to rescue one of their own, THE WILD, like its DREAMWORKS counterpart, is suitable for children with themes of teamwork, friendship and father-son relationships ( Samson's son's desire to get out of his father's shadow and have his own adventures). Overall it comes down to this: If you haven't seen MADAGASCAR you will enjoy this film infinitely more.

I don't really care what these other people are saying, this movie was really good. It's the perfect movie for young children to watch with adults, or kids of any age. It's very entertaining and a success as a animated movie (better than Madagascar).

I expect QUALITY from Disney, and I didn't see quality with this film. It felt like a runner-up knockoff, and not something that anyone actually invested time or effort in. Ok, the animation was interesting, but not interesting enough to hold me for the entire length. It had a few laugh out loud moments, but for the most part, I was bored. And the sound mix on the DVD is awful -- the music swamps the dialogue through much of the movie.

The movie was so awesome! Samson (Kiefer Sutherland, 24), Benny (Jim Belushi, According To Jim), Nigel (Eddie Izzard), Bridget (Jeaneane Garofalo), and Larry (Richard Kind) are living in New York City with their little cub of family adventure sekking lion cub Ryan (Greg Cipes, Teen Titans) to live in New York Central Park Zoo. Ryan gets lost in those green boxes and ships them to Africa. Samson, Larry, Bridget, Nigel and Benny are searching for Ryan and be able to take on the most firecest wildebeest Kazar (William Shatner, Over The Hedge) to save Ryan.

Okay. 10 reasons why I love this movie:
10. New York City
9. The Dancing Scene at the end of the film
8. Searching for Ryan
7. Comedy
6. Drama
5. Adventure
4. Difference between Finding Nemo, Madagascar and The Lion King
3. The animals running around New York City
2. Good for kids and adults, even teenagers
1. Favorite Character in the movie: Ryan

This movie was so amazing and awesome. Finding Nemo, The Lion King and Madagascar mixed together in one movie that will be charted on the Hit Movie List of 2006. This movie will beat out many films in 2006 like, Hoodwinked, Doogal, Curious George, Over The Hedge and Ice Age 2: The Meltdown. The Wild will be the No.1 Disney Animated Movie of 2006. You should see it in theatres and if you haven't seen it in theatres yet, it will be your chance to get it on DVD soon.

First time I watched it with my 4-yr. old grandson drew me in with the relationships (father/son, romantic squirrel/giraffe).Watched it alone and found the technical aspect beats Madagascar with its stiff, jerky character movements. Great subplots and never a dull moment...great running gag( the koala bear doll ) even infected our grandkids who remember every characters name and repeat "I'm so cuddly I like You". Funny movie for adults...highly recommended.

Safe for the family without being lame. Very hard to do. Funny and well done movie. Thank you for this one, Disney.

The Wild is a cute Disney film, not up to Disney classic standard. But a good film.

A lion father named Samson tells of stories to his cub Ryan of his tales of the Wild. However They live in the zoo.Ryan is shipped to the wild and samson's animal friends come to join him to find his son.

There are great character voice talent which makes this film worth watching. Such vocal talents lead by KIefer Sutherland, Willian Shatner, Eddie Izzard, and Jim Belushi bring these animals to life. Richard (Spin Coty) Kind steals the movie as the dumb snake

This is not up the classic Disney Standards, but what is?

Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

Samson (Keifer Sutherland) and his son Ryan (Greg Cipes) live a comfortable life in the New York Zoo. They stay in their enclosure during the day, but at night they have the run of the zoo, hang out, and even play games with their friends.

Ryan has a problem, however. He hasn't developed his roar. Samson has told him lots of stories about his life in "The Wild," but they aren't helping Ryan. Every time he tries, it sounds more like a cat then a lion.

Fed up with not meeting his dad's expectations, he decides to stow away in a crate bound for Africa. At the last minute, Samson discovers what's going on and sets out to rescue his son. Helping him in his quest are Benny the Squirrel (Jim Belushi), Nigel the Koala Bear (Eddie Izzard), Bridget the Giraffe (Janeane Garofalo), and Larry the Snake (Richard Kind).

Their quest takes them from the streets to New York to an island off the coast of Africa. Along the way, Samson's secret will be revealed and the gang will face a volcano and a dangerous pack of wildebeests led by Kazar (William Shatner).

Unfortunately, I missed this movie in the theaters. The movie is absolutely hysterical. I watched it with a couple friends, and the three of us laughed the entire way through. Yes, there are some absurd situations, but most of the humor comes from the snappy dialog. The jokes are quick, and it takes a couple watches to get them all.

The movie has been compared to DreamWorks's Madagascar, but I didn't see it. What I can tell you is, while this movie has some familiar plots, it kept me entertained from start to finish with a couple twists along the way. The actors do a great job with the characters, and the animation is top notch.

I am truly sorry I missed this gem on the big screen but am glad I bought it. I'll be enjoying this one for years to come.

in terms of story and especially animation! and, contrary to an opinion stated by one of the reviewers, Madagascar stole the premiere from The Wild. small wonder, when you see what to what minute detail animation is done in this movie you will know why it took so long to do! really nice movie, lovely characters, wonderful animation. if you need to choose between Madagascar and The Wild, this one steals the show.