Common Sense Note
Parents should know the 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.
Families can discuss 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?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Cynthia Fuchs
THE WILD follows yet another animated father and son, both wanting earnestly to win over the other. In fact, every element of the movie is recognizable from another, better one: The father must rescue his missing son (Finding Nemo). A group of city zoo animals travel to a jungle (Madagascar, not exactly better, just first). The bad characters perform "tribal" rituals and threaten violence (take your pick, including The Lion King and King Kong).
The story begins as a story being told, as Samson (Kiefer Sutherland) recalls for his son Ryan (Greg Cipes) his encounter with ferocious wildebeests. As dad performs incredible stunts in his version of events -- beating back the red-eyed, horrifically snorting creature with a stunning, loud roar -- Ryan feels inadequate by comparison, because he still sort of meows rather than roars. In this frame of mind, Ryan grows restless at the NYC zoo where they live, fed every day (Sam's steaks come shaped like bunnies), and surrounded by friends -- Sam's best friend, a squirrel named Benny (James Belushi), sensible giraffe Bridget (Janeane Garofalo), a koala called Nigel "from the streets of London" (Eddie Izzard), and goofy snake Larry (Richard Kind). By day they perform for human visitors; by night they leave their cages and head to the ice rink, where they engage in the odd sport of curling, using turtles for stones.
Ryan brings on a life-changing crisis when he hides out in a container used to ship animals. Arriving at the gate just in time to see his son being hauled off and screaming "Help me!", Sam decides to find out where the truck is headed, threatening a pigeon, the jittery and heavily accented Hamir: "Just tell me where the green boxes go!" he hisses, sounding just like Jack Bauer, Sutherland's tense anti-terrorist agent on the TV show 24, who regularly uses unseemly tactics to get suspects to talk. While Sam's resemblance to Jack only lasts a few lines, it's the film's most amusing joke. Once this is done, the movie turns to wholly bland retread of any number of animated-animal movie plots.
Following some difficulties, the friends make their way to an island jungle, where they are threatened by a tribe of real wildebeests, led by the ambitious Kazar (William Shatner in full-on bluster). He aspires to reach "the top of the food chain," by turning carnivorous and dragging his tribe along with him. They perform ritual dances and worship one of the friends whom they mistake for a god, and otherwise prepare to eat everyone else. Suffice it to say that Ryan finds his roar.
Families who like this movie should see the movies it wants to be, such as Finding Nemo and The Lion King, even Madagascar.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentSquirrel 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.") |
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ViolenceVultures 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. |
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LanguageSome phrases might catch children's attention ("I've got popcorn up my bum," "olfactory insult"). |
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Social BehaviorFather 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. |
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CommercialismPassing 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). |
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