(U, 81mins) Voices of: Kiefer Sutherland, James Belushi, Eddie Izzard, Janeane Garofalo, William Shatner, Richard Kind. Directed by Steve Williams.

Disney's computer-animated romp bears more than a passing resemblance to Madagascar, the 2005 film set in a New York zoo.

Like its predecessor, The Wild throws together an unlikely band of creatures on a journey of self-discovery in the great outdoors.

Madagascar chose a lion, giraffe, zebra, hippopotamus and some kamikaze penguins as its main characters.

Here, the mix is slightly more bizarre: A lion, giraffe, koala, an anaconda and a street-savvy squirrel.

The critters may have changed but The Wild is disappointing, with a screenplay starved of humour and well-defined protagonists. Eddie Izzard merits occasional chuckles as a sardonic koala, who is quietly proud of his bear heritage: "You mean humans don't lick themselves clean?" he gasps at one point. "Disgusting!"

Samson the lion (voiced by Sutherland) is distraught when his cub son Ryan is accidentally locked in a crate and shipped off to Africa.

Giving chase, Samson boards a tug boat along with his chums Nigel the koala (Izzard), Larry the anaconda (Kind), Bridget the giraffe (Garofalo) and Benny the squirrel (James Belushi).

The quintet manage to sail the tug boat across the Atlantic, washing up on a volcanic island, where an eruption is imminent.

Samson must track down little Ryan before the island is covered in lava.

Computer animation is scarily realistic in places. However, it's all too polished and predictable. Ironically, The Wild is tame.