The Wild (2006)

An adolescent lion is accidentally shipped from the New York Zoo to Africa. Now running free, his zoo pals must put aside their differences to help bring him back.

Director:

Steve 'Spaz' Williams

Writers:

Ed Decter (screenplay), John J. Strauss (screenplay),

Stars:

Kiefer Sutherland, James Belushi, Eddie Izzard

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Samson (voice)
James Belushi	...	Benny (voice) (as Jim Belushi)
Eddie Izzard	...	Nigel (voice)
Janeane Garofalo	...	Bridget (voice)
William Shatner	...	Kazar (voice)
Richard Kind	...	Larry (voice)
Greg Cipes	...	Ryan (voice)
Colin Hay	...	Fergus Flamingo (voice)
Miles Marsico	...	Duke (voice)
Jack De Sena	...	Eze (voice)
Don Cherry	...	Penguin MC (voice)
Christian Argueta	...	Hamir (voice)
David Cowgill	...	Hamir (voice)
Lenny Venito	...	Stan (voice)
Joseph Siravo	...	Carmine (voice)

Storyline

Ryan is a lion who wants to go to the wild, where his dad (Samson) once lived. When he gets himself shipped to Africa, his zoo friends (and Samson) work together to bring him back. When they get to Africa, however, the animals find themselves in a pile of danger. They have to fight an evil wildebeest called Kazar. But Kazar's safe compared to the other danger on the island- a volcano that's on the edge of eruption. Can the animals find Ryan and get out of Africa before the volcano erupts in so little time?

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Plot Keywords:

africa | zoo | volcano | lion | animal | 

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Taglines:

Hitting the streets 2006

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Disney [us]

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 April 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Big Break

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$460,162 (Australia) (22 September 2006)

Gross:

$2,521,598 (Australia) (13 October 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

C.O.R.E. Feature Animation, Contrafilm, Hoytyboy Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kiefer Sutherland had to practice roaring like a lion. Instead of doing it in his home with his two daughters around, he practiced in his car driving on the freeway, completely unaware of a woman in the next lane watching him.

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Goofs

After Benny has landed on the boat and Larry asks Samson if they're going to the wild, Larry pulls the throttle backwards. This would put the engines in reverse, yet in the film the boat continues going forwards and picks up speed.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Samson: So there I was, face to face with the biggest, meanest leopard on the savannah and...
Ryan: You roared so loud, his spots flew off. Dad I've heard that story a billion times.

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Crazy Credits

All main (and lots of the minor) characters interact with the end credits

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Connections

Spoofs Madagascar (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Big Time Boppin' (Go Man Go)"
Written and Produced by Scott Morris (as Scotty Morris)
Arranged by Josh Levy
Performed by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Recorded by Charlie Paakkari
Mixed by Scott Morris (as Scotty Morris)

User Reviews

A definite keeper ... with great repeat value!

The voting pattern on this film is all over the place. Interesting... I guess a lot of people refuse to admit they had a good time at a non-Pixar Disney film, or that they enjoyed a supposed kid film that didn't cater, on the side, to their adult tastes (read: a normal appetite for violence, off-colour jokes and bad language) but I know I did. I found it all very well made by non-traditional studios and talents from all over the world, including French and English Canada. I found it infinitely less vulgar than, say, "Madagascar", the humour relying on something other than kicks in the crotch most of the time, and the writing a nice take on "The Lion King". This film also has many in-joke references to other film classics that I only got on a second viewing. All in all, a great movie experience with great writing and art direction. I especially liked the way the story-telling sequence at the beginning turned back into reality and the way some of the scenes resorted to magic realism (the festivities of the wildebeests), and a stylization that is a throwback to some of the best Disney animation (and maybe a lesson learned from "Ice Age"). The 3-D animation is top-notch and involving and the film's aesthetics are reminiscent in lighting, modeling and cropping of the View-Masters children's subjects of the 50's. And any film that has both Don Cherry as a penguin and Patrick Warburton and William Shatner as wildebeests is a work of genius in my book.