As soon as it was released, The Wild was called out for it’s blatantly obvious similarities to Madagascar (check out this video explaining how they are essentially the same film). Unfortunately, with this resemblance came a similar reinforcement of the idea that the zoo is the natural home of the animal, promoting an unethical and unhealthy relationship between animal and human.
Within the opening 5 minutes, it’s made very clear that there is no place better than the zoo, as Samson the lion (no relation to Alex) shoots down his son’s wish to visit the wild by exclaiming “we’ve got everything we could ever want right here”.
Similar to the characters in Madagascar, the animals identify as New Yorkers above anything else. This is not only reinforced by their dialogue and actions, but also a sequence in which the animals are captivated by the hustle and bustle of Times Square, while lyrics from Coldplay’s ‘Clocks’ accompany the visual: “Home, where I wanted to go”.
Once again, there is no evidence of how ethically the zoo is run, and no involvement of human characters. In fact, the animals roam freely once the zoo is closed to visitors, indicating that the animals have a profound sense of freedom and downplaying the negative effects of life in captivity.
This example of a media representation of zoo life does not really promote an ethical relationship between animals and humans whatsoever, with no reference to animal wellbeing nor the adverse effects of captivity. A rip-off of its animated animal counterpart, this film essentially added nothing to the progression of conservation awareness and was purely produced for entertainment purposes.
Continue to the next part for an analysis of some more recent live-action animal films.
Maddie's Musings 