The Wild is a 2006 animated adventure comedy film directed by Steve "Spaz" Williams with a screenplay by Ed Decter, John J. Strauss, Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin, as well as featuring the voices of Kiefer Sutherland, Eddie Izzard, Jim Belushi, Janeane Garofalo, Richard Kind, Greg Cipes, Patrick Warburton and William Shatner. The film's plot centers around Samson, a male lion who loses his pre-teen son, Ryan, who wanders off and accidentally gets shipped from the Central Park Zoo to Africa, leading Samson to team up with a group of animals as they embark on a journey to save his lost son.

Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Hoytyboy Pictures, Sir Zip Studios, Contrafilm, and C.O.R.E. Feature Animation, it was animated by C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures, and released by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. It was released to theaters in North America on April 14, 2006, and earned $102 million on an $80 million budget. The film was a critical and commercial failure, with criticism for its animation and similarities to films such as Madagascar, Finding Nemo, and The Lion King. It was the only film produced by C.O.R.E before they shut down in 2010.

In the Central Park Zoo, Samson the lion narrates stories of his adventures in the African savanna to his son Ryan. Ryan dreams of going to the wild to learn how to roar like his father, but Samson dismisses the idea.

During the night, Samson and his friends; Benny the squirrel, Bridget the giraffe, Larry the anaconda, and Nigel the koala, compete in a turtle curling championship. Ryan and his own friends accidentally trigger a stampede, ending the game much to Samson's disappointment. Ryan wanders into a green intermodal container, where he gets accidentally locked inside, loaded onto a freight truck and shipped away.

With the help of a pigeon Hamir, Samson and his friends set out to rescue Ryan, hitching a ride in a garbage disposal truck. Passing through Times Square, they get cornered by a pack of rabid dogs, and manage to escape through the sewage system. The group take directions to the docks from two street-smart sewer alligator brothers, Stan and Carmine. The next morning, they commandeer a tugboat from the New York Harbor. With the help of Benny and Canadian geese, Samson steers the boat towards the direction of Ryan's ship.

After days of sea travel, the boat reaches the shores of Africa. They witness a ship evacuating the animals from a dormant volcano, and Ryan running into the jungle. Unable to stop him on time; Nigel, Bridget, Larry and Benny head back to the ship, while Samson stays to continue searching for his son.

In the jungle, the quartet are attacked by a herd of wildebeests who reside in the volcano, capturing Nigel. Their leader Kazar, pronounces Nigel "The Great Him," based on an "omen" he received when he was young, believing that "The Great Him" will help his kind alter the food chain so that prey become predators. Bridget and Larry are also captured, prepared to be eaten.

Ryan hides up in an old tree, and is attacked by a gang of vultures under Kazar's orders. Samson hears Ryan's cries and runs to save him, scaring off the vultures. Samson reveals the truth about his past: he was born in a circus, and just like Ryan, he was unable to roar during a performance. This led to Samson's cruel father disowning him before being sent to the zoo, where he lied about his origins to avoid further humiliation. Ryan is shocked and downhearted by his father's true background. The wildebeests discover them and push Samson over the cliff, while Ryan is captured and taken to the volcano.