Review – The Wild

I’m sure a Disney-fication of Madagascar was necessary for some reason. Yes, the animation is better. The animals look a lot more realistic. The actors supplying the voices are more up-scale as well. And of course there’s the parent-child death and/or suffering trauma we’ve all come to know and love in productions from the Holy Rodent Empire. Trouble is, it just doesn’t work. While the Dreamworks version was cute in a cartoony sort of way, the realism of the animals in this go-around actually makes them less sympathetic when they behave like dumb cartoon characters. The pacing is almost constantly off, the dialogue is stiff, and the characters’ motivations are often vague. But the real killer is the flatness of the humor. Plot points that were no doubt intended to be clever and quirky instead come across as odd and awkward. Final thought: this isn’t the first movie I’ve disliked despite Eddie Izzard’s presence in the supporting cast, but this is the first time I’ve ever disliked the character Izzard was playing. See if desperate