It’s not easy for a smaller studio to break into the world of big-budget animated films. Many have tried – most have failed. The latest attempt comes, not from Hollywood, but Bollywood!
“Delhi Safari” is the first feature-length 3D animated film produced in India. The original version starred the voices of major Bollywood stars. The US version includes an all-star American cast, including Jane Lynch, Christopher Lloyd, Jason Alexander and Brad Garrett.
The story of “Delhi Safari” centers around a leopard cub named Yuvi, who witnesses his father’s murder at the hands of construction workers who are knocking down the animals’ forest home to build a luxury apartment complex (just because this movie doesn’t come from Disney doesn’t mean that the filmmakers haven’t watched a lot of Disney films where one of the parents dies in the first act).
All the animals come together and decide to send a group to Delhi to meet with the country’s political leaders and ask them to stop destroying their land. But, even though they can all talk to and understand each other, only one of them can speak to humans – a wise cracking parrot named Alex (voiced by Tom Kenny). But before they can get to have their say the animals go through a series of adventures, and take part in several musical numbers, which, of course, Bollywood films are famous for.
The strong points of “Delhi Safari” are the message and the music. It does a nice job of making it’s “save the animals/save the planet” stance clear to it’s target audience – little kids – without hitting them over the head with it. And who doesn’t like a good Bollywood production number!
However, the film could have used fewer songs because they make the journey of these animals go on way too long. And some of the characters are pretty bizarre. The translation from Indian to English may be to blame for parts of the story that just seem out of place. A little tighter editing would have helped.
The animation is just OK, a good first effort from small Krayon Pictures, but not close to where it needs to be in comparison to the great work being produced these days by Disney, Pixar, Sony, DreamWorks and Blue Sky. However, you can clearly tell that the people behind this film really cared about the finished product, and that’s not something that can always be said.
Bottom-line: if you’re expecting a “Madagascar” or “Ice Age” – level animal adventure you will be be disappointed. However, there’s much to like in “Delhi Safari”. Kids will enjoy the action, fun characters and the great music. And parents will appreciate that the story delivers an important message.
On The Official LCJ Report Card, “Delhi Safari” gets a C.