Recipe for disaster: Take Daniel Defoe’s classic shipwreck survival adventure, Robinson Crusoe, remove all traces of character, plot, tension or drama, add a few chatty critters, animate and – voila! You end up with this dull mush of a movie.
For undemanding toddlers (aged, say 4 to 8), it may pass the time, but it’s unlikely it’ll entertain for long or conjure that sense of wonder we’ve come to expect from the best of the likes of Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks Animation. This French/Belgian co-production features animation that’s fine, with a story that’s all but absent, and dialogue that’s downright feeble. Unless a thingy, (my son’s friend thought it was meant to be an armadillo, or maybe a lizard?), saying “Bonza to the max”, or Crusoe naming a parrot Tuesday, is your idea of wit.
I was bored. My ten-year-old and his mate were bored. Judging by their lackluster performances, the voice cast were pretty bored too. But don’t worry, it’s unlikely you’ll have heard of any of them anyway. The only remotely interesting character was Crusoe’s dog, Ainsley. So they killed him. Seriously. But don’t worry, from scrawny villainous cats to clichéd pirates, there’s nothing to scare wee ones here. Hell, there’s barely anything to keep them awake.
The only remotely wild thing about The Wild Life is just how poor the script is. If it’s toddler entertainment you’re after, stick with the likes of The Smurfs, Turbo and Rio, because compared to this shipwreck, even they look like masterpieces of modern animated storytelling.
‘Robinson Crusoe: The Wild Life’ Movie Times
Perhaps Also Try: The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Zootopia, Finding Nemo
