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The Wild

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 5, age appropriate for kids over 6; suggested age 6.
  • Is it any good?

    2.0
  • Common Sense says

    So-so, unoriginal animated animal movie for kids.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 6 and Up

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    Father learns his lifetime of lying to son is not good; son learns to appreciate father; all the animal friends pull together to rescue the cub; the wildebeests, however, are scary soldiers and thugs until the very end. Some stereotypes.
  • Violence & scariness:

    Vultures loom over heroes from tree branches and swoop down; wildebeests are frightening (mechanical/dream version has red eyes and steamy breath); wildebeest attacks accompanied by heavy music; when lion cub is shipped off in container, he's afraid and screams for dad; lion slaps pigeons to get information; garbage truck almost squishes giraffe inside; fierce, foaming-at-the-mouth dog pack menaces heroes (koala hits them with toy torch); shadowy alligators briefly scary in sewer; storm at sea is briefly scary; lion threatens to eat hyrax; hippo tries to squash lion cub; father lion fights off wildebeests with huge roar; volcano blows up at end, injuring the chief wildebeest.
  • Sexy stuff:

    Squirrel with crush on giraffe kisses her ("Your daily dose of Vitamin Benny," which she repeats at film's end), makes "romantic" remarks (slaps his own butt and says he rides a goose "bareback.")
  • Language:

    Some phrases might catch children's attention ("I've got popcorn up my bum," "olfactory insult").
  • Consumerism:

    Passing through Times Square, animals see array of product names, including McDonalds, Quaker Oats, Toys R Us, Kodak, TiVo; koala bear and lion are marketed by zoo (via stuffed toys and billboards).
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About The Wild

Parents need to know that film includes some scenes where the lion cub is frightened by noises, darkness, and a storm at sea. The primary villains are hostile, shadowy wildebeests who perform "African" ritual dances and chants, with comic choreography, and announce an intention to seize power by becoming "predators" and "carnivores." Their efforts to eat the other characters lead to a conflict. The wildebeests live in a volcano cave, so lighting is red and fiery; eventually the volcano explodes and the friends barely escape (some tension created). A squirrel with a crush on a female giraffe makes a couple of sexual references (he rides a goose "bareback" and uses this moment to make a sexual advance toward her; he considers his size in comparison to the giraffe). The father lion lies to his son about his own past, and must eventually confess and be forgiven. Characters are stereotyped by nationality or ethnicity: a Canadian goose says "Eh"; an "East Indian" pigeon speaks with accent and dances as if in a Bollywood movie; a British koala bear is snobbish.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the ways that both father and son learn from one another. How do the friends each contribute a talent or specific energy to the adventure, so the movie can offer lessons in diversity and generosity?

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Teen Reviewer Age 17
    Lives in California
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 4.0

    super funny for kids who arnt scared and can enjoy the humor!

    I personally thought it was a gig of that really annoying Madagascar film. It turned to be extremely funny with the squirrel hitting on the giraffe and the koala was absolutely hilarious. When they got to the jungle, there was no stupid singing bush-babies to make your retarded kids laugh and you sit there in embarrassment. The only Thing that I was concerned about was it was to short. It ended way to soon and i was hoping for them to do more silly stuff. If the children are not too scarred they can enjoy the wildebeests humor. FUNNY FOR PARENTS. Let the kids have a laugh.

  2. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Wisconsin
    I rate this title off for age 8 and give it 5.0

    dumb and dumber

    my kids hated this movie and so did we. The jokes aren't funny, the wildebeasts are terrifying (even our 7 year old ended up crying). We rented this since we'd never heard much about it - but it was one of few "G" movies at the movie store we hadn't seen. Liket he review says, skip it and watch Madagascar again. Or ANYTHING ELSE!

  3. Teen Reviewer Age 14
    Lives in Missouri
    I rate this title off for age 2 and give it 2.0

    Boring

    Well this movie is just OK. It's mostly like Madagascar adn Lion King. The only good part about this movie is the animation. I was watching it w/ my mom becuz she likes these kinds of movies and I lost everything that happended it got really boring and when someone is lost it's just not like panicing enough like you would do if one of your family is missing. But this is a good kid's movie and family. I would recommend this to 4 or older.

  4. Kid Reviewer Age 11
    Lives in Iowa
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 4.0

    super-super funny

    i mean this is the best movie on the planet i mean the whole family enjoyed it aspecialy my little brother he was like "this is a amazing movie let's see it again let's see it again" and it's completely appropriate exceptt for the part when the koala say's uh guys i've got popcorn up my bum and when the dungbeettle say's dung makes strong buns.i think that that is crude and obnoxious.but anyway this is one for the whole family

  5. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Pennsylvania
    I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it 1.0

    No so good for the little ones

    We actually had to leave the movie theater because my 4 year old was very frightened by the Willabeasts. She is normally not a scaredy cat but the part in the volcano was WAY to drawn out and very eerie. I was very disappointed. I did give it one star for animation but the rest of the movie was bad.

  6. Adult Reviewer
    I rate this title off for age 2 and give it 0.0

    THE ONLY PROB...

    THE ONLY PROB W/ THIS MOVIE IS ITS A TOTALLY COPY OF MADAGASCAR!BOTH MOVIES ARE ABOUT ANIMALS EXCAPING FROM NEW YORK ZOO STARRING THE SAME KIND OF ANIMALS!

  7. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Oklahoma
    I rate this title on for age 5 and give it 2.0

    Not the original

    This movie is not original and is not that funny because of that reason. It's just a Madagascar clone.

  8. Teen Reviewer Age 14
    Lives in Louisiana
    I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it 2.0

  9. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Idaho
    I rate this title off for age 13 and give it 1.0

  10. Teen Reviewer Age 13
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 1.0

    Martina

  11. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Michigan
    I rate this title iffy for age 8 and give it 1.0

    Not Worth It

    Pros: The animation was spectacular, there were maybe 6 funny moments. Cons: Copied plot (Madagascar), very frightening imagery, animals were constantly wacking each other on the head/face. Lack of humor. My biggest surprise was to see that it took four screenwriters to construct this horribly boring, poorly written script. We took our 4 and 7 yr old girls and couldn't wait until it was over. The antagonist creatures are scary and while the animation was great, it just lacked cute moments and fun dance sequences that Madagascar included. Not even worth renting.

  12. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in California
    I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it 1.0

    we waqlked out

    my kids, age 11 and 8, both wanted to leave this film in the middle of it. It was very uncomfortabale for them to sit thru. I do not recommned this film for anycild under the age of 13. Do not waste your money.

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