Parents' Guide to

Animals United

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Kids might enjoy eco-friendly, Madagascar-like tale.

Movie PG 2012 93 minutes
Animals United Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 10+

Based on 6 parent reviews

Holly R.
Holly R. Parent of 2-year-old
April 18, 2020
age 3+

Not the greatest but it’s ok.

It’s just ok. I’ve seen much worse than this. The animation is simply ok. It’s better than a lot of direct to video CGI films like Food Fight! and Where The Dead Go To Die (don’t watch either of those unless you are a fan of bad movies) but it’s also not exactly Disney Pixar quality either (or DreamWorks, Blue Sky, or Illumination) but it’s serviceable for what it is. It’s very preachy and bleak and ends with character deaths and it’s not good for sensitive kids. Some people might hate this movie and you might have some who love it but for me it’s just ok. My daughter whom is almost 3 and quite advanced in her vocabulary for her age wasn’t really into it and I only watched it because I wanted to see how terrible it is because I kinda like bad movies (I like to critique cult and camp films for “fun”) and this film is indeed kinda bad but might be watchable for some people. There’s positive messages but the characters aren’t really the best role models...

This title has:

Great messages
Too much violence
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
Jackery234
Jackery234 Adult
March 22, 2019
age 10+

Hi big pimps great movie right

Didn’t like it was boring had no climax Rhino was ginger

This title has:

Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 6 parent reviews

What's the Story?

The animals in an unspecified African location await the annual flood to provide them with water. When it's later than ever, Socrates the lion (voiced by Stephen Fry) discovers that it's been cut off by a nearby resort, where he's then trapped by the hotel's in-house security. Meanwhile, Socrates' friend Billy the meerkat (James Corden) -- along with a motley crew including giraffes, an elephant, a Tasmanian Devil, a displaced polar bear, two ancient tortoises, and a French rooster -- all attempt to unite the various animal factions to descend on the resort, save Socrates, and subsequently crash a global climate-change summit.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (6):
Kids say (5):

Despite an outstanding voice cast, ANIMALS UNITED often feels like a sub-par copycat of a bunch of animated animal adventures, from The Lion King to Happy Feet to Madagascar. Originally a German-language film, Animals United was quite popular overseas but has been released straight to DVD in the United States. There's a reason for this. The songs are forgettable, the storyline a bit muddled, and the characters a lot less endearing than they are meant to be -- at least for adults.

Even the movie's one redeeming aspect -- the environmental message that cautions humans from assuming that the world is their playground -- is heavy handed. As a 700-year-old Galapagos tortoise, Academy Award winner Vanessa Redgrave delivers an over-the-top diatribe about why man is the reason the Earth is slowly turning into a dry, black puddle of a mess. While it's lovely to hear her distinguished voice, surely kindergartners don't need that much sermonizing in a children's film. Although younger kids might not notice Animals United's derivative nature, older children and parents will likely be bored by the story.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why animal-centered movies are so popular with kids. Animals United is reminiscent of many other animal movies, like Madagascar. How does the story contain elements that are similar to those other films?

  • How can people take the movie's message to heart and be more mindful of the environment? What animal and ecological causes can young kids help? How does your family help the Earth?

Movie Details

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Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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