The
Wild Life
(2016/Crusoe/Lionsgate Blu-ray w/DVD)
Picture:
B/C+ Sound: B/C+ Extras: C Film: C
In
the vein of other animated films like Madagascar
or the recent Zootopia
where talking animals take center stage, this new digitally animated
family film The
Wild Life
(2016) directed by Ben Stassen (a Belgian filmmaker who has produced
several other animated films such as The
House Of Magic,
A
Turtle's Tale,
and Fly
Me To The Moon
to name a few). Perhaps one reason this didn't get as big of a push
in American cinemas is due to its lack of Hollywood A-listers and
instead featuring the original Foreign voice cast, including Dieter
Hallervorden, Matthias Schweighofer, and Yuri Lowenthal.
On
a tiny exotic island, Tuesday, an outgoing parrot lives with his
exotic animal friends in paradise. While content, Tuesday can't stop
dreaming about discovering the world as the humans do. After a
violent storm, Tuesday and his friends wake up to find a human in
their mists named Robinson Crusoe. At first viewing him as he would
them, the animals and human soon start to speak the same language and
help each other survive against a group of savage cats that wish to
control the island over their own terms. While predictable, and the
animation not up to par with Pixar or Disney, the film will be sure
to entertain young kids.
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1,
the animated film shines in high definition with more detail and
contrast than the included DVD version (presented in standard def.
with an anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of 2.38:1). As with many
other animated films, the HD transfers heavily mirror the detail seen
in the original theatrical digital presentation of the film seen in
theaters. The sound mix is great too with a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio)
5.1 lossless track that shines and equalizes the synth-heavy score
with the crystal clear digital. As for the DVD, we are given the
best it can offer in a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 surround mix that
isn't terrible considering the nature of the film but not as
impressive as the former.
Special
Features include
''A
Wild World: Making The Wild Life'' Featurette
''Meet
the Characters'' Featurette
''Tips
for Your Trip'' Featurette
The
Wild Life Musical Adventure
Not
the best or the worst, The
Wild Life
is another animated feature with a familiar story structure.
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
