The Wild is a 2006 American-Canadian 3D computer-animated comedy film directed by animator Steve "Spaz" Williams, and written by Ed Decter, John J. Strauss, Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin. It features the voices of Kiefer Sutherland, Jim Belushi, Janeane Garofalo, Greg Cipes, Eddie Izzard, Richard Kind, and William Shatner.
Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Hoytyboy Pictures, Sir Zip Studios and Contrafilm, it was animated by C.O.R.E. Feature Animation 20th Century Animation (Sequels). It was released to theaters in North America on April 14, 2006, by Buena Vista Pictures, and earned $102 million on an $80 million budget. The film was compared unfavorably to Madagascar by critics, who also criticized the story and animation. The film also received an Artios Award nomination for Best Animated Voice-Over Feature Casting. A video game for the Game Boy Advance was released to promote the film.
Plot[]
In Central Park Zoo, Samson the Lion tells his 11-year-old son Ryan stories of his adventures in the wild. That night, when the zoo closes, all the animals are free to roam. Samson, along with his four friends Benny an Eastern gray squirrel, Bridget a masai giraffe, Larry an anaconda snake, and Nigel a British koala compete in a turtle curling championship while Ryan is with his friends. Ryan accidentally causes a stampede which head to the game. Samson and Ryan have a falling out, and Ryan storms off before Samson can apologize. Ryan wanders into a green box and gets shipped away by a truck, which the legend tells will take him to the wild while Samson claims that they are dangerous. With the help of a pigeon, Hamir, Samson and Benny go after him, sneaking into a garbage disposal truck with Nigel, Larry, and Bridget coming as well, accidentally throwing Benny off the truck.
After passing through Times Square and nearly being crushed in the garbage disposal, the group encounters a pack of rabid stray dogs. Samson leads them through the sewer rather than scaring them off. There, they take directions to the docks from two streetwise alligator brothers, Stan and Carmine. The next morning, the four friends steal a tugboat during a hectic escape from New York harbor. With help from Larry, they drive the boat and reunite with Benny, who has enlisted a flock of Canada geese to help lead the crew in the right direction of Ryan's ship. Days later, Nigel goes mad and, under the impression they have hit an iceberg, jumps overboard, Only to discover that the ship has run aground in Africa.
In Africa,the group quickly discovers that all the animals in the area are being evacuated by the carriers, as a nearby volcano erupts. They witness Ryan escaping, but he runs into the jungle. Samson attempts to find him, but it is quickly revealed that he has in fact never been in the wild before after trying to eat a rude Hyrax. The rest of the group head back to the ship, but Samson decides to keep trying to find his son. While walking, Samson starts seeing plants and rocks change colors.
Nigel is captured by a herd of wildebeests who dwell in the volcano, and their leader Kazar, pronounces him 'The Great Him', based on an 'omen' he received when he was young: about to be devoured by lions, a toy koala fell from the sky (actually from a plane) and scared the lions away, saving his life. Kazar Has founded a cult intent on changing the food chain, Anticipating the day when "prey become predators" and vice versa. For this, he needs to eat a lion, Which he believes that Nigel's help will allow him to do. Bridget and Larry are also captured and held prisoner.
Ryan hides up an old tree, but is attacked by a gang of vultures led by Scraw and Scab acting under orders from Kazar. The branch breaks and traps his paw. Samson hears Ryan's cries and runs to save him, scaring off the birds. The two reunite, but are interrupted by Kazar's wildebeest minions led by Blag. Ryan is shocked when Samson tells him to run. The two retreat to a tree where Samson reveals the truth about his past: he was actually born in the circus and like Ryan, was unable to roar. One night, he was forced to appear in a show with the intent of him roaring at a mechanical bull but failed due to his inability to roar, humiliated in front of the audience. His disappointed father disowned him, claiming that he would have known how to roar if he were born in the wild. Sent to the zoo, Samson lied to avoid the shame. The wildebeests discover them and, in the scuffle, send the tree over the cliff with Samson still hanging on. Ryan is captured and taken to the volcano.
Benny finds Samson and encourages him to be himself, even if he's not from the wild. They find two chameleons, who were leading Samson to the volcano and are also trying to defeat Kazar's army of his kind. Samson uses the chameleons' camouflage abilities to slip into Kazar's lair. Nigel tries his best to stall the wildebeests from cooking his friends, and eventually Samson fights Kazar but is overwhelmed. Ryan, seeing Samson in danger, climbs onto a catapulting device and launches himself at Kazar, finally letting out a roar.
With Kazar distracted, Samson manages to defeat him. Ryan tells Samson that he is happy to have him for a dad. The other wildebeests are touched by this and refuse to serve Kazar any further. Samson gains the courage he has needed after seeing the illusion of the mechanical wildebeest over a charging Kazar and roars powerfully enough to push him back. The animals, along with the wildebeests, flee except Kazar, who is trapped and crushed to death in the erupting volcano. The animals and wildebeests manage to escape on the boat and travel back to the New York Zoo.
Cast[]
- Kiefer Sutherland as Samson (Sonic Leo)
- Jim Belushi as Benny
- Bob Joles as Camo/Ringleader
- Greg Berg as Vulture
- Jason Connery as Flamingo
- Jess Harnell as Screaming Boat Captain
- Jason Harris as Nelson
- Eddie Izzard as Nigel
- Janeane Garofalo as Bridget
- William Shatner as Kazar (Bad Cow)
- Richard Kind as Larry
- Greg Cipes as Ryan (Second Sonic Leo)
- Colin Hay as Fergus Flamingo
- Miles Marsico as Duke
- Jack DeSena as Eze
- Don Cherry as Penguin MC
- Christian Argueta and David Cowgill as Hamir, a pigeon.
- Lenny Venito as Stan
- Joseph Siravo as Carmine
- Patrick Warburton as Blaggar "Blag"
- Colin Cunningham as Hyrax
- Jonathan Kimmel as Scab
- Eddie Gossling as Scraw
- Clinton Leupp as Mama Hippo
- Kevin Michael Richardson as Jason Samson's father Ryan Grandfather As Jason The Lion
- Dominic Scott Kay as Young Samson
- Chris Edgerly as Cloak
Danske Stemmer[]
- Lars Mikkelsen - Samson
- Erik Clausen - Benny
- Klaus Bondam - Niller
- Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis - Birgit
- Nis Bank-Mikkelsen - Kazar
- Anders Bircow - Lasse
- Thomas Gylling Andersen - Rune
- Allan Hyde - Dirk
- Søren Ydemark - Ebbe
- Donald Andersen - Hamir
- Søren Sætter-Lassen - Sten
- Henrik Koefoed - Carlo
- Jens Jacob Tychsen - Klippegrævling
- Mads M. Nielsen - Blag
- Troells Toya - Revl
- Lasse Lunderskov - Krat
- Trine Appel - Flodhestemor
- Christoffer Bro - Samsons Far
- Zacharias Grassme - Lille Samson
- Vibeke Hastrup - Skarnbasse 1, 2
- Casper Christensen - Skjul
- Frank Hvam - Skalke
- Søren Spanning - Pingvinværet, Kampleder
Additional Voices[]
- Ole Boisen
- Anders Ørsager
- Arvid Nielsen
- Mads Enggaard
- Peter Bom
- Emma Morton
- Jan Tellefsen
Gallery[]
Chapters[]
- The Story
- Zoo's Closed/The Pigeons
- The Gazelles
- Pinocchio Taken
- Losing Ryan
- New York
- Turtle Curling/Dog Attack
- The Sewers
- Sunrise
- Benny Returns
- The Wild
- The Truth
- The Wildebeests
- The Omen
- Ryan's Capture
- A Real Lion
- The Ritual
- Ryan's Roar (Samson Roar Gigachad Theme Meme.)
- Going Home
- Credits
Disney's Fast Play Includes[]
- Deleted Scenes
- Music and More
- Backstage Disney
- Sneak Peeks
- Horror analog Lost sequel Scary
- Ice Age Franchise Timeline
Trivia[]
- The Trailer can be found in Ice Age (2002 film)/Credits
- The trailer can be found in Turning Red
- The trailer can be found in Chicken Little