The Wild
| The Wild(Movie) | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Steve 'Spaz' Williams |
| Screenplay by | Ed Decter John J. Strauss Mark Gibson Philip Halprin |
| Story by | Mark Gibson Philip Halprin |
| Produced by | Clint Goldman Beau Flynn |
| Starring | Kiefer Sutherland James Belushi Greg Cipes Eddie Izzard Janeane Garofalo Richard Kind William Shatner Patrick Warburton Christopher Edgerly Bob Joles Colin Hay Don Cherry |
| Edited by | Scott Balcerek Steven L. Wagner |
| Music by | Alan Silvestri |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Pictures Buena Vista International |
Release date | April 14, 2006 |
Running time | 95 minutes |
| Countries | Canada United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $80 million |
| Box office | $102,338,515[1] |
The Wild is a 2006[2] computer-animated film directed by Steve "Spaz" Williams, produced by Clint Goldman, assistant produced by Jim Burton and C.O.R.E. Feature Animation, and was distributed by Walt Disney Pictures on April 14, 2006, in the United States.
Plot
The film begins with Samson the Lion (voiced by Kiefer Sutherland) telling his son Ryan (voiced by Greg Cipes) stories of his adventures in the wild. Ryan attempts to imitate his father's roar, but all he can manage is a squeaky growl. Ryan is teased by the zoo guests and he sulks away in his tree. During the night, when the zoo closes, all the animals are free to roam. Samson heads off to play a game of Turtle Curling with the other animals, while Ryan is taunted to come with his friends Eze the Hippopotamus (voiced by Miles Marsico) and Duke the Kangaroo (Jack DeSena) to stalk the gazelles like his father. Samson later observes as his best friend Benny the Squirrel (voiced by James Belushi) tries to get Bridget the Giraffe (voiced by Janeane Garofalo) to go out with him, but she is clearly not interested. Along with Bridget, an unlucky koala named Nigel (voiced by Eddie Izzard), and a dim-witted snake named Larry (voiced by Richard Kind), Samson competes in a Turtle Curling Game against a team of Penguins. Meanwhile, Ryan's friends sneak into the gazelle exhibit. Ryan tries to stop Eze and Duke with a roar, but growls instead. However, it wakes the gazelles into a stampede, which ruins his father's game. This ends up invoking Samson's anger as he scolds Ryan for spending all day sulking. Ryan retorts by saying he sulks because he would feel much better being a loser if his father wasn't "Samson the Wild."
That night, Ryan accidentally gets shipped into the 'Green Boxes', which legend tells will take him to the wild. With the help of a pigeon (voiced by Phil Daniels), Samson and Benny go after him, sneaking into a garbage disposal truck. However, Nigel, Larry, and Bridget tag along to help as well, accidentally throwing Benny off the truck. After nearly being crushed in the garbage disposal, the group encounters a pack of rabid stray dogs. To their surprise, Samson makes them hide in the sewer rather than fight. There, they take directions from two street wise alligators named Carmine and Stan (voiced by Lennie Venito and Joseph Siravo) who lead them to the docks.
The next morning, the four friends steal a tugboat during a hectic escape from several bulk carriers entering and departing New York harbor to chase after Ryan's ship. After they learn how to drive the boat with a little help from Larry, they reunite with Benny, who has enlisted some Canadian geese to help lead the crew in the right direction of Ryan's ship. After several days, Nigel goes mad with the heat and thirst, and, under the impression they have hit an iceberg, jumps overboard. Luckily, the boat has run aground in Africa. The group quickly discovers that all the animals in the area are being evacuated by the carriers, as a nearby volcano has begun billowing ominous black smoke. They witness Ryan escaping, but he runs into the jungle before they can stop him. Samson attempts to use his instincts to find him, but it is quickly revealed that he has never been in the wild before. The rest of the group head back to the ship, but Samson decides to keep trying to find Ryan.
While walking Samson sees plants and rocks turning into different colors; he thinks they are his senses. Nigel is captured by a group of wildebeests who dwell in the volcano, and their leader Kazar (voiced by William Shatner) pronounces him King, based on an 'omen' he received when he was young. About to be devoured by lions, a toy koala fell from the sky (unknown to him it was actually from a plane) and scared the lions away, saving his life. Kazar wants to change the food chain; he no longer wants his kind to be at the bottom, but would rather see "prey become predators" and vice versa. For this, he needs to sacrifice a lion. Bridget and Larry are also captured and held prisoner.
Ryan is left sheltering in a branch of an old tree, but he is attacked by a gang of vultures led by Scraw and Scab (voiced by Bronson Pinchot and Jonathan Kimmel) acting under orders from Kazar. The branch breaks and traps his paw. Ryan attempts a roar but again can only manage a squeak. Samson hears Ryan's cries and runs to save him, scaring off the birds. The two reunite, but are interrupted by a pack of wildebeests. Ryan is shocked when Samson tells him to run. The two retreat to a tree where Samson reveals the truth...he was born in the circus and like Ryan couldn't roar. Samson's father (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) was ashamed, telling him a wild lion could roar, before allowing his son to be sent to the zoo, where Samson lied to avoid the shame. Meanwhile, the wildebeest discover them and, in the scuffle, send the tree over the cliff, with Samson still hanging on. Ryan is taken back to the volcano to be sacrificed.
Samson is found later by Benny, and together they follow Samson's 'instinct' to the volcano in which the wildebeests are. This instinct turns out to be a group of chameleons who can camouflage themselves to look like they are leading his way - they help Samson because they want to see the wildebeests overthrown. Nigel tries his best to distract Kazar and the others from harming his friends (who are going to be cooked in a fire for dinner), but eventually Samson appears. He ends up fighting Kazar in order to protect the others and Ryan. Though at first Samson is strong, he gradually becomes weaker and so Kazar attempts to finish him off. Ryan, seeing Samson in danger, climbs onto a catapulting device and launches himself. The others helped to make this device. Ryan finally finds his roar while in mid-air. Ryan lands on Kazar's back,but is quickly thrown off. Samson attacks Kazar and manages to throw the bighead into a rock. Ryan,unconscous, wakes up and tells Samson that he is happy to have him for a dad. The other wildebeests are touched by this act. Kazar orders the other wildebeests to help him. His second in command Blag (voiced by Patrick Warburton) tells him that the wildebeests are tired of pretending to be something that they're not, and refuse to help. During the fight, Samson gains the courage he has needed, and roars powerfully enough to push back a charging Kazar. After Kazar is caught in the volcano's blast, the other Wildebeests accompany Samson and company back to New York.
The film ends with a fade out. Before total blackness, the music pauses and one of the wildebeest peers through the hole, which closes on his neck and chokes him. He coughs and Nigel appears, holding the Statue of Liberty torch that he has carried throughout the film, and hits the wildebeest with it. He then apologizes to the audience, breaking the fourth wall in the process.
Characters
Main characters
- Samson: Samson is a male lion and the main protagonist of the film. His son, Ryan, is lost after lecturing him for inadvertently putting the others in danger. While he has been always known to be wild, he is really a circus lion cub, and a zoo lion at heart. Even though he brags about knowing a lot about the wild, his secret is that he's never really been, and is making all of the stories up. Samson is a good person though, and doesn't mean to fool his friends.
- Benny Squirrel: Benny is a street-smart red squirrel with great knowledge. He is Samson's best friend and is the only one who knows Samson's secret. He also has a huge crush on Bridget and at the beginning of the movie asks her out but she refused but in the end she falls for Benny.
- Kazar: The main antagonist of the film, Kazar is a wicked black wildebeest who no longer wants to dwell at the bottom of the food chain. He is somewhat insane, actually wanting to eat meat and was successful in convincing other wildebeest. Attempting to eat Samson and his friends, he is soon defeated by Samson and Ryan, and is left to perish in the volcano where he and his minions (though they don't really want to) plan to turn predators into prey.
- Nigel: Hallucinating and always unpredictable, Nigel is a British koala who's recognized by the NY Zoo's famous plush toy and is tired of being "cute". Assisting Samson in rescuing Ryan, his life is somewhat changed, however, when he's worshipped by wildebeests upon reaching Africa. Worshipped because of a talking plush which is responsible for scaring a pack of lions that away when it falls off a biplane, into the savannah plains. Nigel soon sees the error of his ways when the wildebeests attempt to eat his friends and escapes with the others back home.
- Bridget: An insecure and easily pampered somali giraffe, Bridget is the only female in the group. She is quick-witted and wants to be seen as strong and independent.
- Larry: A dim-witted yet very good hearted green anaconda who tries to keep up with Samson and the gang, despite his lack of hands or legs. Though he does help, being the stretchiest animal in the zoo, he can be many things, such as a turtle shooter at turtle curling.
- Ryan: Ryan is Samson's eleven-year-old son. After he and his friends, Eze and Duke, accidentally provoked a gazelle stampede and invoking Samson's anger over losing the curling championship, Ryan sneaks into a green transport box and winds up getting shipped to Africa. After reuniting and learning the truth about his father, he soon found his roar (back then all he can do is do a squeaky growl) after getting abducted by the wildebeests and heads back home with the others.
- Blag: Kazar's poor assistant is always in trouble for the tiniest things. Though during Kazar's combat, he gets his sweet revenge he has always desired.
Additional characters
- Cloak and Camo: Covert agents or not, these Jackson's and Veiled Chameleons were caught by Benny and shown to Samson, since they might know a thing or two about where Ryan is, but they turn out to be on Samson's side and help in rescuing Ryan. Cloak gets carried away easily; for instance, revealing his and Camo's names. Camo is more serious than his partner, and sticks to covert agent rules, in contrast to Cloak's "revealing" nature.
- Stan and Carmine: Two American alligators looking ferocious, they might be deadly, but when settled, they can help. And so they do, while helping Samson and the gang get out of the sewers.
- Scraw and Scab: Two vultures who make quick cameos while finding Ryan out in the jungle and attack him on Kazar's orders. However, they disappeared during Samson's mini combat.
- Galena: Galena is Samson's wife and Ryan's mother. She appeared in one of the movie's deleted scenes. She was worried that Samson and Ryan are in danger and she relies on Benny to find them.
- The Dogs: These vicious mutts, apparently a rottweiler, a boxer, and a poodle, chase Samson and his companions through the city in hot pursuit. During this sequence, Samson has his chance to show courage, but fails - but he and his pals manage to escape from the dogs.
- Donald: A turtle used for turtle curling at the zoo.
- Team Penguin: The competition team for turtle shelling in New York. The team's captain is a wise-guy with a Brooklyn accent named Victor.
- The Pigeons: They play a major part in telling where Ryan is headed, to the lady with the spikes. This flock of birds includes the temporarily insane and unlucky Hamir.
- The Canadian Geese: New friends of Benny that help at sea to find the ship that's holding Ryan. These geese are led by a spunky goose named Nelson (whose speech impediment bears a striking resemblance to that of Rutt and Tuke's in Brother Bear).
- Eze and Duke: A mischievous hippopotamus and red kangaroo, they are Ryan's friends at the zoo who try to make him go "wild". They coax Ryan to come along with them to stalk a herd of Dama gazelles, a prank that winds up backfiring.
- Colin the Hyrax: Samson meets one and tries to eat it, but can't, blowing his cover and revealing he's not from the wild.
- The Monkeys: A group of hecklers who harassed Nigel with a doll that looks like him.
- Dung Beetles: These absent-minded insects with Dutch accents mistake Benny for a ball of dung. (These dung beetles strangely are physically inaccurate to the real insect)
- Fergus Flamingo: One of the flamingo bullies that go rough on Nigel. He also sells fish heads at the turtle curling game.
- Rhinoceros: A rhino at the zoo with a foam hand on his horn who is Samson's "number one fan".
- Samson's Father: Brutal, Samson's only parent appears in a flashback in the scene where Samson tells Ryan the truth.
- Mama Hippo and Baby Hippo: When Ryan meets a cute little baby hippopotamus (who reminds him of Eze), the infant's screaming mother throws her weight around (literally) which frightens Ryan and he runs off deeper into the jungle.
- African Bush Elephant: After the green box carrying Ryan has landed, the young cub escapes from it and encounters an oncoming elephant, who is absolutely terrified of him.
Reception and merchandise
The Wild was given very negative reviews. It had harsh reviews even before the trailer premiered. The film currently holds an 19% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 27% rating from a select group of critics, primarily due to its similarities to DreamWorks' Madagascar. Movies.com[3][failed verification] described it as "Madagascar meets Finding Nemo with The Lion King thrown in for effect."
The Wild opened in 2,854 theaters. According to Box Office Mojo, the film earned 9.5 million dollars in its first weekend at the box office, ranking #4.
Its promotion was small, with only the following promoters: Kraft, McDonalds, Amazon (selling the products and mini promotions on its site), Buena Vista Games, Buena Vista Records and Buena Vista Book Publishing Worldwide.
As of November 5, 2006, the film has grossed a total of $37,384,046 in the United States box office & $102,338,515 worldwide. Its production budget, in contrast, was $80 million.[1]
The Wild was ranked #1 of the top DVD sales twice in Entertainment Weekly (The first time for October 6–12, 2006, the second time for October 13–19, 2006).
Madagascar similarities
The Wild's similarities with Madagascar were criticized of being too close of a plot line to Madagascar, by many critics. Similarities include its setting in New York's Central Park Zoo, similar animals as characters, and the primary plot of introducing zoo animals to the wild. The name of the film and the tag line, "Start spreading the newspaper", a play on the opening line from the "Theme from New York, New York", were both used as integral plot points in Madagascar.
Similar themes between Disney's and DreamWorks' films have not been limited to animated films. In 1998, Disney's Touchstone Pictures released the blockbuster Armageddon two months after Paramount/DreamWorks' Deep Impact. However, it should be noted that The Wild was only distributed by Disney, not produced by any of its animation production studios.
Soundtrack
The musical score is composed and conducted by Alan Silvestri. The song "Real Wild Child" is performed by Everlife. The song "Good Enough" is performed by Lifehouse; "Clocks" is performed by Coldplay; "Really Nice Day" is performed by Eric Idle and John Du Prez; and "Big Time Boopin'" is performed by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. "Come Sail Away" is performed by Styx.The scores "Tales From The Wild", "You Can't Roar", and "Lost In The City" are only a few of the scores on the soundtrack. The soundtrack is available from Buena Vista Records.
Video game
A video game for Game Boy Advance based on "The Wild" was released to coincide with the film. Players get to play as Benny the Squirrel and Samson the lion as they go through New York, the sea, and Africa to find Ryan, while battling the wicked wildebeest Kazar. The video game is rated "E" (for "Everyone") by the ESRB, with a note for Cartoon Violence.
Games for the film on the Disney.com website are "Alligator Alley", "Turtle Toss", and "Benny's Lunk Dunk".
Cast
| Actor | Role | Animals |
|---|---|---|
| Kiefer Sutherland | Samson the Lion | Lion (Panthera leo) |
| Dominic Scott Kay | Young Samson | Lion (Panthera leo) |
| Jim Belushi | Benny the Squirrel | Eastern Gray Squirrel (Scuirus carolinesis) |
| Greg Cipes | Ryan the Lion Cub | Lion (Panthera leo) |
| Janeane Garofalo | Bridget the Giraffe | Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardus) |
| Richard Kind | Larry the Snake | Green anaconda (Eunectes murinus) |
| Eddie Izzard | Nigel the Koala | Koala (Phascolarctos cinerus) |
| William Shatner | Kazar the Wildebeest | Black Wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou) |
| Chris Edgerly | Cloak The Chameleon Covert Agent | |
| Bob Joles | Camo The Chameleon Covert Agent | |
| Patrick Warburton | Blag The Wildebeest | Black Wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou) |
| Don Cherry | Turtle Curling Penguin MC | Crested Penguin (Eudyptes.sp) |
| Lenny Venito | Carmine The Sewer Alligator | American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) |
| Joseph Siravo | Stan the Sewer Alligator | American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) |
| Jack DeSena | Duke the Kangaroo | Red Kangaroo (Macropus rufus) |
| Miles Marsico | Eze the Hippopotamus | Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) |
| Colin Hay | Fergus the Flamingo | Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) |
| Bronson Pinchot | Scraw The Vulture | |
| Jonathan Kimmel | Scab The Vulture | |
| Phil Daniels | Hamir the Pigeon | Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) |
| Colin J Cunningham | Colin the Rock Hyrax | Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis) |
| Kevin Michael Richardson | Samson's Father | Lion (Panthera leo) |
- Dung Beetles: Julianne Buescher, Nika Futterman
- Additional Voices by Keith Anthony, Greg Berg, Bob Bergen, Jason Connery, Debi Derryberry, Terri Douglas, Jeannie Elias, Eddie Frierson, Nicholas Guest, Jess Harnell, Jason Harris, Bridget Hoffman, Emily Johnson, John Kassir, Daniel Kaz, Josh Keaton, Nolan North, Paul Pape, Peter Pamela Rose, Fred Tatasciore, Kari Wahlgren, Hannah Williams, and Steve 'Spaz' Williams.
References
- ^ a b "The Wild (2006)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
- ^ http://www.ultimatedisney.com/thewild.html
- ^ Movies.com