MOVIE REVIEW: THE WILD (2006)

Coming in at a brisk 82-minute runtime, The Wild pulls off a rare feat. It is both overwhelming with how much is crammed into the story, but it is also almost entirely forgettable. Unfortunately for the filmmakers, what is most memorable about the film is how little it stands out from its peers.

Samson, a lion, fills his son’s head with impressive stories about his exploits in Africa before being captured and brought to the New York Zoo, where they live with a motley crew of other animals. His son, Ryan, decides to escape from the zoo and sneak away to Africa where he can live out his own adventures and prove himself to his father. Samson and his zoo friends set out after Ryan in an effort to save him from the unknown dangers of the wild.

Imagine taking the father/son relationship drama of The Lion King and Finding Nemo and sewing it to a bizarre fish-out-of-water story while the patient is still awake. And yet, this film was so forgettable that I had to look up the plot summary to remember the fish-out-of-water part. There is so much paint-by-numbers predictability going on here that it outweighs and clouds your memory of the zoo crew facing off against wildebeest who wish to become predators. That’s quite the unfortunate accomplishment.

Few of the characters and voice performances stand out, which adds to the generic feeling of the film. Kiefer Sutherland provides the voice of Samson and William Shatner voices the maniacal leader of the wildebeest. Sutherland’s contribution is hurt by the stale lines he must deliver, and Shatner’s contribution is overpowered by the weirdness of the character and its motives. Even vibrant performances can overcome a run of the mill script, but none are to be found among the supporting voice cast.

While reminding myself of the plot of this film, I learned that it was in development at the same time as DreamWorks’ Madagascar and corporate espionage led to Madagascar being released first. Apparently both films have similar plots, though I have not seen Madagascar. Having watched The Wild, I can say that it wouldn’t take much to best it. If you just need to entertain children for a stretch, you could sit them in front of this without issue, but know that you have plenty of better options at your disposal.

FINAL RATING: 2 out of 5