The Wild
By Mal Simons, Blockbuster.co.uk

“If you really wanted me to roar like you, you'd take me to the wild.”

The latest animated adventure from the House of Mouse, 'The Wild' is Disney at its very best. When New York City zoo lion Samson’s ( Kiefer Sutherland) son Ryan ( Greg Cipes) is taken away to the wild, Samson and his friends break out of the zoo and go after him. When they get to the wild, they find an insane Wilder beast ( William Shatner) who, in addition to dancing, wants to eat a lion. Inspired casting makes this an unmissable movie and the film that Madagascar tried to be…

New York City Zoo lion Samson (Kiefer Sutherland) often tells his son Ryan (Greg Cipes), tales of his time in the wild and often talks about scaring away dangerous wilder beasts with his mighty roar. While Ryan is impressed, he is frustrated however since he hasn’t developed his roar yet and sounds like a housecat. Visitors to the zoo laugh at his attempts to sound like the king of the jungle.

After Ryan accidentally causes a stampede and has a fight with his father, Ryan sneaks out of the zoo and falls asleep in one of the ‘green boxes’ that he knows are often taken out of the zoo. When the doors close, Ryan panics and cries out but it is too late – he is in fact in the back of a truck. His dad Samson hears his son cry out but cannot get out of the zoo and to his son in time. Sam plans out how he will break out of the zoo and get to the torch-carrying lady wearing a crown of thorns (the Statue of Liberty) which is where he is told the truck is headed.

Samson is not alone in his rescue mission and his friends are with him to help. There’s Benny (Jim Belushi), Samson’s best friend who is a squirrel in love with Bridget (Janeane Garofalo), a giraffe who doesn’t respond well to his affections. Larry ( Richard Kind), the dimwitted snake is also along for the ride, as is Nigel (played by the brilliant Eddie Izzard), a Koala bear who absolutely despises the zoo’s stuffed toys fashioned in his likeness.

After heading over and below the streets of Manhattan, the zoo posse arrive at the port too late to stop Ryan’s crate from being loaded on to a ship headed for Africa. Stealing a boat, the group manage to clumsily pilot a ship to follow him. Crash landing in Africa, Samson’s friends are confident that Samson will protect them – afterall, he has handled worse according to his stories.

“Leader. Prophet. Choreographer.”

But when Samson’s killer instincts do not kick in and Samson is unable to track Ryan or defend them from a herd of wilderbeasts led by Kazar (William Shatner), who has grown insane and decided that the only way for his species to survive is for them to become carnivores oh, and worship Koalas as Gods, they begin to wonder whether Samson really has it in him to find his son. Overall, this is a highly entertaining movie with plenty for all the family to enjoy. The kids will enjoy the animation and the traditional story of a son finding a father’s love… the rest of us can enjoy the humour and both Eddie Izzard and William Shatner’s inspired performances. Great stuff! Add to your list now.

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