Strange Wilderness (2008)

With the ratings dropping for a wilderness-themed TV show, two animal fans go to the Andes in search of Bigfoot.

Director:

Fred Wolf

Writers:

Peter Gaulke, Fred Wolf

Stars:

Steve Zahn, Allen Covert, Justin Long

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Zahn	...	Peter
Allen Covert	...	Fred
Jonah Hill	...	Cooker
Kevin Heffernan	...	Whitaker
Ashley Scott	...	Cheryl
Peter Dante	...	Danny Gutierrez
Harry Hamlin	...	Sky Pierson
Robert Patrick	...	Gus Hayden
Joe Don Baker	...	Bill Calhoun
Blake Clark	...	Dick
Justin Long	...	Junior
Jeff Garlin	...	Ed Lawson
Ernest Borgnine	...	Milas
Jake Abel	...	Conservationist
Kevin Alejandro	...	Hispanic Man #1

Storyline

When his father dies, Peter Gaulke inherits "Strange Wilderness," dad's TV show about animals. After ratings plummet and the show is canceled, we watch a long flashback to see its demise. The studio head gives the show two more weeks. An old friend brings a story about Bigfoot in Ecuador, so a long road trip ensues with stops along the way and enough problems, misjudgments, and deaths to sink a less intrepid band. Peter's team faces competition from a better-funded and more practiced set of rivals. Who will find Bigfoot first, and will they get it on tape and save the show? Can Peter make dad proud?

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Plot Keywords:

bigfoot | tv show | friend | ecuador | killing an animal | 

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Taglines:

They could solve the world's biggest mystery, if only they had a clue.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

18A

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 February 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Grandes Animais

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$3,001,719 (USA) (1 February 2008)

Gross:

$6,563,357 (USA) (29 February 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pelican Productions LLC (I), Happy Madison Productions, Level 1 Entertainment

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Strange Wilderness" began its life in the 1990's as a series of independently produced short videos by former "Saturday Night Live" writers Fred Wolf and Peter Gaulke. "They started out as little parodies of wildlife shows," explains writer and producer Gaulke. "Fred and I went out and shot them with the help of John Burrud, who actually has a real-life wildlife show. His father Bill used to host 'Animal World' and other travel and nature shows back in the '60s. So John helped us produce these little shorts which we eventually got onto Comedy Central."

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Goofs

Junior has his eyelids tattooed. We never see the tattoos again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Peter Gaulke: [talking on phone] Look at my dad. He was the king. I mean, no matter what happened, I mean he was as cool as a cucumber. He never forgot a line, and he never let anything ruffle him. My dad was the king. No doubt. And his TV show ruled the ratings.
[lights up weed]
Peter Gaulke: What was that?
[coughs while getting high]
Peter Gaulke: Excuse me. It was a wildlife show called Strange Wilderness. Oh, you remember that? Do you remember my dad? Oh cool. Yeah, then he died and then I took over the show, then it went...

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Connections

Featured in Bad Movie Beatdown: Strange Wilderness (2013)

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Soundtracks

On the Road
Written by Dick Wagner
Performed by The Bossmen
Courtesy of Early Frost Music
Under license from Spirit Music Group

User Reviews

inspired silliness

"Strange Wilderness" is a good-natured, frequently hilarious takeoff on all those nature documentaries that play on the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, and whose pedigree stretches all the way back to the granddaddy of them all, "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom." Peter and Fred are the producers of a wildlife series entitled "Strange Wilderness" that has been foundering in the ratings ever since Peter's father, a Steve Irwin-type naturist and the original host of the show, passed away, leaving his less-than-stellar son to carry on his legacy. The sheer scientific illiteracy of much of the commentary that Peter provides for his footage probably hasn't helped matters much in this regard. Now faced with the prospect of series cancellation, Peter and his crew of incompetent dweebs head off to the wilds of South America to file an exclusive report on the famed Bigfoot who has recently been spotted there.

Though adolescent in the extreme, "Strange Wilderness" turns out to be a zany, endearingly random and unflaggingly energetic little comedy whose likable cast is obviously dialed into what the movie makers are trying to do here. Steve Zahn, Allen Covert, Covert, Ernest Borgnine, Jeff Garlin, Kevin Heffernan, Justin Long and Harry Hamlin seem to be having the time of their lives here and their enjoyment rubs off on us as well.

Is it dumb? Of course it is. Is it lowbrow, inane and hopelessly juvenile? You betcha'. But unlike so many other films that fall into those categories, "Strange Wilderness" has a shrewd mind for parody and a liveliness of spirit that actually make the movie funny. Credit scenarist Peter Gaulke and co-author/director Fred Wolf (who first developed this concept as sketches on "Saturday Night Live") for some excellent joke-writing and pacing and for their willingness to pull out all the stops in their effort to get the laugh. In fact, the crew's ill-fated encounter with Bigfoot is alone worth the price of admission.