Animals United

Plot

The film is set in Africa's Okavango Delta, and the main characters are a meerkat named Billy and a lion named Socrates. The annual flood has failed to arrive in the Delta, water has become scarce and the native animals fiercely fight over it. Billy and Socrates set out to find more water, and during their quest they meet a rag-tag group of animals from across the world: a polar bear named Sushi, a kangaroo named Toby, a Tasmanian devil named Smiley, two Galápagos tortoises named Winifred and Winston, a rooster named Charles, and a chimpanzee named Toto, all of whom have had their lives ruined by humans in some way and have travelled to Africa. The animals soon discover the reason for the lack of water in the Delta: a dam has been constructed to supply energy for a luxury resort owned by a man named Mr. Smith. Hunter, a poacher, kidnaps Socrates, while the other animals escape. The animals hold a conference where Winifred and Winston explain the deadly future that could be possible for animals. After the conference, however, Winifred and Winston pass away. That day, Billy and the other animals travel through the "Valley of Death" towards the dam. Hunter spots the animals and tries to stop them with a bi-plane, but is stopped by Toto. Maya, Mr. Smith's daughter, frees Socrates from his cage, and sends Hunter down a chute. Down at the bottom of the dam, the buffaloes and rhinos, including Chino and Biggie, charge into the dam. Billy hits a rock into a chute in the dam, which ignites a missile from Hunter's bi-plane, which destroys the dam, and frees the water. To celebrate the water coming back, they have a party. After the party, the animals travel to New York City, where the movie ends with the animals walking through the city with whales calling in the background.

Meerkats

Other animals

Humans

German

English dub

Production

The film was produced by German company Constantin Film. The film was animated in German, and dubbed by both British and New York voice actors into the English-language.

Release

Animals United was released in theaters on October 7, 2010 in Germany.

Home media

This film was released on Blu-ray and DVD in the USA in 2012 by Arc Entertainment. A Blu-ray 3D release in North America has not been announced yet.

Reception

Reviews for the film were generally mixed to negative, with the aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reporting that 25% of critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating 3.8 out of 10. A review in The Hollywood Reporter described the film as a "bombastic CGI-effort that aims at the big leagues, but preaches too much while entertaining too little to unite internationally."

Soundtrack

The soundtrack album for the film was composed by David Newman. It features songs performed by various artists, including Naturally 7, Charles Trénet and Xavier Naidoo. It was released on 7 December 2010 in Germany through Königskinder Music in CD and digital download formats, and is also available on iTunes.

Track listing

All musical score tracks for the film written and composed by David Newman, except where noted.

Note: Roger Thomas of Naturally 7 provides Billy's singing voice for tracks 3 and 4.