The Wild

One gets a feeling of déjà vu watching this Disney computer-animated film from director Steve “Spaz” Williams, which is so like DreamWorks' Madagascar that even the smallest tykes are likely to feel cheated. Once again the action begins in a New York City zoo presided over by a lion, here called Samson. This time, though, his best buddy is Benny, a fast-talking squirrel, and Samson has a son named Ryan, who is entranced by his dad's tales of life in the wild and embarrassed that he hasn't yet “found his roar.” After Ryan takes off in a truck bound—as it turns out—for Africa, Samson, Benny, Bridget the Giraffe, Larry the Anaconda, and Nigel the Koala break out to rescue him, all winding up in the African wilds where the troupe becomes involved with a herd of wildebeest headed up by a self-styled prophet who believes he can lead his followers to the head of the food chain by eating a lion. The similarity of this scenario to Madagascar is obvious, but while the characters in the earlier picture were engaging and the voice talent exceptional, here the figures are bland and the voices (including those of Kiefer Sutherland, Eddie Izzard, and Janeane Garofalo) are nondescript. Apart from a mildly witty moment here and there, the writing is lackluster, the few songs are mediocre, and the visuals are strangely drab and charmless. So even if The Wild didn't feel like a retread, it still wouldn't be much to squawk about (and there are no penguins!). Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include five deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Steve Williams and producer Clint Goldman (5 min.), a four-minute “Eddie Izzard: Unleashed” segment with bonus adlib footage, “Meet Colin: The Rock Hyrax” on Colin Cunningham's character (3 min.), the “Real Wild Child” music video by Everlife, and trailers. Bottom line: a relatively small extras package for a relatively uninspired—or, more specifically, inspired by Madagascar—Disney animated film.] (F. Swietek)