Animals United (German: Konferenz der Tiere) is a 2010 German 3D computer animated comedy adventure film directed and produced by Reinhard Klooss and Holger Tappe. It was released on 7 October 2010 in Germany. The film stars Ralf Schmitz and Thomas Fritsch as a meerkat named Billy and a lion named Socrates in the African Okavango Delta, who go on an epic quest to discover why their river has unexpectedly dried up. It is based on the 1949 book of the same name by Erich Kästner. The screenplay for the film was written by Oliver Huzly and Reinhard Kloos. An English dub version for Animals United stars an ensemble cast, including James Corden, Stephen Fry, Joanna Lumley, Dawn French, Billie Piper, Jim Broadbent, Vanessa Redgrave, Jason Donovan and Andy Serkis.
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.
Characters
Meerkats
- Billy is an adventurous green-eyed gray meerkat who wants to find water to drink. He wants to take some for himself with a bottle made out an orange-colored gourd complete with a cork. He also likes to golf, drum and sing.
- Bonnie - Billy's wife and loyal but concerned member of the meerkat family. She has tan fur and light brown eyes compared to her husband's gray fur and green eyes.
- Junior - the son of Billy and Bonnie who wants to do one of the things his father likes to do such as taking some water with a gourd.
- Other meerkats - often tease Junior about his father's promise, but are convinced at the end.
Other animals
- Socrates - the vegetarian lion with a scar on his face and Billy's best friend. His goal is to vanquish the hunter in revenge for his brother Mambo.
- Angie - the elephant with blond hair tied in a ponytail.
- Giselle - the giraffe with makeup on her face and blond bangs on her head. She is also Angie's best friend.
- Winston - a Galapagos tortoise who was alive for more than 700 years. He's 12 years older than his wife, Winifred. He passes away shortly before the climax.
- Winifred - a Galapagos tortoise and Winston's wife who was also alive for more than 700 years. She passes away shortly before the climax.
- Charles - the rooster with a French accent who leads the other animals.
- Sushi - the polar bear who was damaged by global warming.
- Toby - the kangaroo whose ears are hanging down. He likes to drink water.
- Ken - the koala who's been rescued by a man after another set the outback on fire.
- Smiley - the Tasmanian devil whom Toby the kangaroo befriends.
- Toto - the chimpanzee who served as an animal test subject on a cruise ship.
- Biggie - the black rhinoceros against Chino.
- Chino - the cape buffalo against Biggie.
- The Anteater Bob - the anteater or an aardvark who trumpets like an elephant.
Humans
- Mr. Smith - the tour guide of the hotel who initially never cares about animals but money. In the end, when the animals have their water back, the hotel goes bankrupt.
- Maya Smith - Smith's daughter who is kind and loves animals.
- Hunter - the animal killer. He killed Socrates' brother Mambo. He is defeated near the end of the movie by the animals.
Voice cast
German
- Ralf Schmitz as Erdmännchen Kochgeschirr
- Thomas Fritsch as Löwe Sokrates
- Bastian Pastewka as Elefantenkuh Angie
- Bianca Krahl as Giraffe Gisela
- Margot Rothweiler as Schildkröte Winifred
- Peter Gröger as Schildkröte Winston
- Constantin von Jascheroff as Erdmännchen
- Nicola Devico Mamone as Büffel Chino
- Christoph Maria Herbst as Hahn Charles
- Oliver Kalkofe as Hoteldirektor Smith
- Frank Schaff as Erdmännchen
- Tilo Schmitz as Nashorn Biggie
- Santiago Ziesmer as Affiger Friseur Bongo
English dub
- James Corden as Billy
- Stephen Fry as Socrates
- Joanna Lumley as Giselle
- Dawn French as Angie
- Jim Broadbent as Winston
- Vanessa Redgrave as Winifred
- Billie Piper as Bonnie the Meerkat
- Tom Wayland as The Anteater Bob
- Andy Serkis as Charles the Cockerel
- Jason Donovan as Toby
- Omid Djalili as Bongo
- Mischa Goodman as Junior
- Bella Hudson as Sushi
- Oliver Green as Ken
- Jason Griffith as Toto the Chimpanzee
- Sean Schemmel as Biggie the Rhinoceros
- Marc Thompson as Chino the Buffalo
- Pete Zarustica as Smiley
- Ruben Lloyd, Jimmy Zoppi and Gary McHenley as Vultures
- Kim Holland as Maya
- Veronica Taylor as The Mole
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.
References
External links
- Animals United at the Internet Movie Database