The Wild Life Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

The Wild Life Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 28, 2016

Daniel Defoe’s immortal tale of a hapless castaway has had any number of film treatments over the years, including several efforts at the dawn of the commercial film industry like a 1903 short directed by the legendary Georges Melies and a decade later a 1913 short, both entitled Robinson Crusoe, and the latter featuring future journeyman director Robert Z. Leonard (The Great Ziegfeld) in the title role. I’m frankly not quite sure what the first feature length version of Defoe’s tale was, but among the more interesting treatments of the source novel are the 1947 Soviet effort Robinson Crusoe, evidently filmed in 3-D, Luis Buñuel’s 1954 The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (which garnered star Dan O’Herlihy an Academy Award nomination as Best Actor), Disney’s 1966 modern day update Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. with Dick Van Dyke, 1975’s post-modern take on the material Man Friday with Peter O’Toole and Richard Roundtree, and of course Byron Haskin’s 1964 science fiction effort Robinson Crusoe on Mars. Into these somewhat roiling waters comes the Belgian animated feature The Wild Life, which evidently was initially released in some markets as the probably more marketable Robinson Crusoe. A production of nWave, the same studio responsible for A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures and Thunder and the House of Magic, The Wild Life is another in a long line of both animated and live action features which had theatrical exhibitions in 3D but which matriculate to Blu-ray in only 2D versions.

The Wild Life has bookending framing moments which feature a gaggle of pirates, a comical band of rogues who stumble across the unfortunate Robinson Crusoe and supposedly “rescue” him, even if their true motives are of the ulterior variety (they think the island might have some buried treasure and the like). Accompanying Robinson back to the pirate ship is a colorful macaw helpfully named Mac who is exiled to the outside of the ship and who then regales two mice with the “real” story of Crusoe. The bulk of the film is therefore a flashback detailing Robinson’s adventures from the perspective of Mac and several other animals who had long made the supposedly “deserted” island their home.

So far, so good, but as with many other animated films made in and for non-U.S. markets, there’s a difference in rhythm and even things like joke setups and punchlines that don’t quite land with the immediacy that some domestic viewers might expect. Some structural issues also intrude at times, as in the understandable but still fraying decision to split the big storm scene (the one that strands Robinson on the island) between Robinson’s travails on his ship and the animals on the island. Once Robinson does end up on the island, there’s perhaps a bit too much time spent in detailing “fear of the outsider”, from both points of view (i.e., Robinson’s and the animals’), before everyone ends up fast friends (of course).

The film also struggles in its development of the villains of the piece, two feral cats who are on Robinson’s ship and who end up on the island with vengeance on their minds. The cats are lovably sinister and (in one case) inept, but they seem cut from somewhat the same cloth as the nasty Siamese in Lady and the Tramp. Speaking of Disney references, The Wild Life actually utilizes one of the hoariest tropes from the Disney canon, namely an aggregation of cute forest (and/or island) animals coming to the aid of a human, though in this case it’s not a bunch of mice helping Cinderella get to the ball, but the crew of the island helping Robinson get his treehouse constructed.

What may make this an acceptable enough time killer, especially for those with younger kids around the house, is the really stunning animation. There has been consistent growth in the efforts of co-director Ben Sassen (working here with Vincent Kesteloot, his partner on A Turtle's Tale 2: Sammy's Escape from Paradise 3D), and the technical prowess on display in The Wild Life is quite impressive at times. The characters all sport distinctive designs, and the rendering of everything from bird feathers to goat fur to things like the ship’s masts and Robinson’s treehouse is typically excellent and very well detailed. The story may only work in dribs and drabs in The Wild Life, but the excellent visuals may be enough to entrance tots while also distracting adults.

The Wild Life Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Wild Life is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.38:1. As mentioned above in the main body of the review, the film's design aesthetic is one of its strongest assets, even though it's obvious that many scenes were designed with 3D in mind, and understandably fall a little flat (literally) in this 2D iteration. Colors are often quite bold and provocative, as in Mac's deep red coloring, but there are also gorgeously lit moments that offer excellent fine detail despite a more subtle palette (see screenshot 14). Some very minor and transitory banding creeps in on a couple of occasions, but otherwise this is a great looking transfer of a very nice looking film.

The Wild Life Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Wild Life's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 offers some good consistent surround activity courtesy of the wash of water and other ambient environmental noises on the island, as well as a couple of set pieces like the storm and a later fire aboard the shipwreck, but it's not especially helped by an undercooked (and synth heavy) score. Dialogue is clearly presented, though there are no marquee stars in the English language voice cast. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range wide on this problem free track.

The Wild Life Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Wild World: Making A Wild Life (1080p; 9:22) is an okay featurette with interviews and lots of snippets from the film, but which might have been better had it dealt more with some of the technical aspects of the animation.


• Meet the Characters (1080p; 10:09) has a lot of other clips from the film along with brief interviews with some of the voice talent.


• Tips for Your Trip (1080p; 4:00) has (you guessed it) clips from the film, albeit this time with some narration giving tips for a vacation.


• The Wild Life Musical Adventure (1080p; 3:15). I'm frankly not sure what's up with this piece, which is just another assortment of clips with no seeming purpose, not even featuring the closing credits song which one might assume to be the case considering the title.

The Wild Life Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This may be neither Daniel Defoe's nor your father's Robinson Crusoe (so to speak), but for those with younger kids around the house, this version offers a brightly animated and decently entertaining journey through the expected messages of teamwork and overcoming obstacles. Technical merits are generally strong, and at least for parents wondering when their deserted island is going to show up, The Wild Life comes Recommended.