The Wild
Walt Disney Pictures | Release Date: April 14, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
47
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
14
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
It has a good director, snazzy visuals and some really funny animals, and that's at least half the battle. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
The voice performances are terrific, particularly those of Belushi and Garofalo, as the amorous squirrel and the giraffe he would like to have as his wife. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
This is the third animated feature in a row (after "Curious George" and "Ice Age: The Meltdown") which aims at children and has no serious ambition to be all things to all people, i.e., their parents. But for kids, it's OK. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
The CGI characters seem less like artwork than humans wearing animal suits, but despite the overall ugliness and sitcom timing, this has enough action, violence, and invention to keep kids amused. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
If you don't care about the characters, then everything's just a big, dumb joke. Read full review
60
The New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis
While the kids are giggling at gambling pigeons and psychedelic chameleons, parents can enjoy a screenplay sensitive to the travails of single fatherhood and the evils of oppression. In The Wild, the most valuable weapons are honesty, tolerance and the ability to be oneself. Read full review
60
EmpireHelen O'Hara
The Wild roars back from a rocky opening act to a storming last reel, just managing to claw its way above comparisons with "Madagascar." Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
It's a bright, swiftly paced story with some spirited humor. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Lifting a concept isn't exactly foreign to the world of animation (what's "The Lion King" if not "Bambi" with manes?), but it isn't often a rip-off gets as blatant as The Wild, a flat-out regurgitation of "Madagascar." Read full review
50
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Adult humor in kiddie films -- of which there is plenty in The Wild -- is not only welcome but, for many adult viewers, essential. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Just be the most wildly derivative animated movie in ages. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
The Wild suffers from a breakneck pace that seems to exist only so that director Steve Williams can earn his nickname of "Spaz." Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Kids under 6 will dig it - though the alligators and wildebeests might scare them. Certainly they scared this groan-up. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
A decent-looking and harmless computer animated film that is notable mostly because it doesn't appear to contain a single original idea. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
As far as story is concerned, the whole thing feels like a rerun of a raucous Saturday-morning television show aimed at hell-raising five-year-olds. Read full review
50
Village VoiceJim Ridley
Under Steve "Spaz" Williams' direction, the animation is exquisitely detailed, down to the lions' individually moving whiskers--but when's the last time you enjoyed a cartoon for its realism? Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
The film is a relentlessly loud and ultimately exhausting exercise only partially leavened by the usual heavy doses of wisecracking humor and visual gags. Read full review
40
VarietyJustin Chang
Uninspired character animation and obnoxious banter aside, The Wild is ultimately done in by the persistent stench of been-there-seen-that. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
About as pedestrian as you can get. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle Smith
These films take years to produce, so The Wild isn't exactly a ripoff - but it isn't exactly fun, either. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeTy Burr
How's the movie? Technologically incredible, aesthetically pretty hideous, and narratively lumpy: Kids who aren't cynics (i.e., 9 and under) will roll with it. Read full review
33
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
There may be nothing new under the sun, but there are at least films that dress up old tropes in new ways. This isn't one of them. Read full review
25
Miami HeraldPeter Debruge
Janeane Garofalo is all wrong as the giraffe, whom the animators contort into all manner of weird positions so she can share the frame with pint-size love interest Benny the squirrel (Jim Belushi). Read full review
10
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
The animation is cheesy; the banter isn't funny; the score is noisy and grating; and the critters look like stuffed animals. The best that can be said for The Wild is that it's a most insincere form of flattery. The worst is that it's a sincere form of theft. Read full review
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