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Originality eludes Disney in 'The Wild'

By MELINDA ENNIS
For The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Disney's animated "The Wild" is a patchwork quilt that appears to be pieced together with recycled concepts from several big-box-office features — the biggest coming from "Madagascar."

Although the filmmakers have said that the movie was conceived before "Madagascar," the all-too-obvious similarities should have made the new movie a straight-to-video release.

Walt Disney Pictures

'The Wild'

C-

The verdict: Disney does 'Madagascar' and retreads one of its own films.

Director: Steve 'Spaz' Williams
Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Eddie Izzard, James Belushi, Janeane Garofalo, William Shatner
Release date: April 14, 2006
Rating: G
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Disney seems to have generously borrowed plotlines and characters from the rival DreamWorks film, while also stealing from its own vault. The story revolves around a lion cub named Ryan, who is intimidated by the power and majesty of his father, Samson � and the conflicts between the two. Sound familiar? But this lion isn't king.

Like the characters in "Madagascar," the only wild creatures Samson reigns over are the human kind — the ones who pass by his cage at the New York City Zoo. Still, Samson fills his son's head with tales of his earlier days in Africa stalking the stampeding wildebeests (in a thundering herd flashback that again echoes that other Disney lion movie).

As the son of a great hunter, the Simba-esque Ryan is demoralized by his deficient roaring capabilities. His father complains that he's 11, but projecting at the level of a 9-year-old. Meanwhile, Samson hides his own childhood traumas. He was never actually in the wild, but was a circus lion whose cowardice disappointed his own father.

What these lions really need is a good family therapist, not to mention an original script.

Even the sidekick characters are strangely familiar. In this version we have a wisecracking squirrel (Jim Belushi) and a sassy female giraffe (Janeane Garofalo) subbing for Chris Rock's stand-up zebra and Jada Pinkett-Smith's hip hippo from "Madagascar." And instead of a flock of intrepid spy-penguins, we have a flock of Indian mystic spy-pigeons.

The only unexpected twist is that one of Samson's pals, Nigel the koala, is a Brit, not an Aussie (perhaps English comedian Eddie Izzard couldn't do an Australian accent). The acerbic Nigel hates the cutesy talking-toy version of himself sold at the zoo gift shop that incessantly repeats, "I am cuddly, I love you." Throwing the toy into the ocean, Nigel comments, "We know you can cuddle, but let's see if you can float" � funny, but a bit acidic for the 4-year-olds who might enjoy the movie despite its derivative plot.

When Ryan gets trapped in a zoo container bound for Africa, Papa Samson goes into "Finding Nemo" mode and tries to return his prodigal son. He's joined by his escaped zoo creature comrades in the sewers of New York as they make their way to the port to stop the boat. Here they encounter alligators, who provide a somewhat funny repartee of conflicting directions in "New Yawk" cab-driver-speak.

If you've seen "Madagascar," you can guess that the characters all end up on an island in the wild.

The computer-generated animation was conceived by first-time director Steve "Spaz" Williams, a visual effects designer. It's an interesting look — like talking stuffed animals with human eyes. The lions seem as stitched together as the film, although Nigel the koala has an effectively surreal appearance that's almost spooky.

What's truly wild, and sad, about "The Wild" is that Disney, once the icon of animated originality, has been reduced to releasing this retread.