The Wild Is Wildly Funny

After seeing the trailers, some of you may assume that “The Wild” is a lot like “Madagascar” from DreamWorks Animation.

You would assume right, but this film is better. The plot, animation, and even the jokes are better, making for a wonderful moviegoing experience.

This film follows Samson (voiced by Kiefer Sutherland), a lion at the New York Zoo who is trying to teach his son Ryan (voiced by Greg Cipes) how to roar. He would tell him stories of being in the wild and deflecting herds of wildebeests with a single roar, but nothing seemed to inspire him. Once Ryan finds out that the green boxes outside the zoo go to the wild, he decides to find out what his father has been talking about. Samson sees Ryan being taken away and devises a plan to go after him. Though he asks to go alone, his friends Benny the Squirrel (voiced by Jim Belushi), Nigel the Koala (voiced by Eddie Izzard), Larry the 21-foot Snake (voiced by Richard Kind), and Bridget the Giraffe (voiced by Janeane Garofalo) decide to go along. Once they arrive in the wild, they encounter a volcano, psychedelic trees, and carnivorous wildebeests led by Kazar (voiced by William Shatner). Looks like “Madagascar,” but much more entertaining.

Nigel is hilarious. With some movies, you get all the best jokes in the trailer, but Nigel keeps them coming all the time. With the various and different situations the animals find themselves in there is always some wisecrack from someone with Nigel leading the comedic way. This is overall a great movie.

The film is a mix of “Madagascar” and “The Lion King.” But don’t think because you have seen these two films you can guess what will happen next. Though it may be CGI animation it has a cell animation feel especially in the environment that takes you back to the classic Disney films of yesteryear. Not only does this appeal to parents who grew up with cell animation but also younger audiences for the more wacky, distorted and at times psychedelic appearance. This film could not be better. Take the whole family, or even your whole neighborhood.

Directed by Steve “Spaz” Williams, and written by Ed Decter, John J. Strauss, Mark Gibson, and Phillip Halprin. Rated G, I give this movie 5 out of 5 stars.

.lap-wild.pic.0413.jpg-BPhotoInfoV91PTFEB20060413ixmmcincDogs © Disney Enterprises Inc. All rights reserved. (LA)A RUFF LIFE ? Animators had to create and render with a computer more than 14 million hairs to bring this poodle to life.