''Animals United'' is a 2010 3D German computer-animated

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed and produced by Reinhard Klooss and Holger Tappe. It was released on October 7, 2010, in Germany. The film stars

Ralf Schmitz Ralf Schmitz (born 3 November 1974 in Leverkusen) is a German comedian and actor. Life Schmitz works as an actor in German television. Filmography * since 2003: Genial daneben – Die Comedy Arena * 2004–2006: Schillerstraße * 2002– ...

and

Thomas Fritsch Thomas Fritsch (16 January 1944 – 21 April 2021) was a German film, television and dubbing actor. He was regarded as the "Sonnyboy" in the German cinema of the 1960s, and became one of the best-known actors by his presence in television serie ...

as a

meerkat MeerKAT, originally the Karoo Array Telescope, is a radio telescope consisting of 64 antennas in the Meerkat National Park, in the Northern Cape of South Africa. In 2003, South Africa submitted an expression of interest to host the Square Kilom ...

named Billy and a lion named Socrates, 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 Emil Erich Kästner (; 23 February 1899 – 29 July 1974) was a German writer, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known primarily for his humorous, socially astute poems and for children's books including '' Emil and the Detectives''. He received ...

. This is the second adaptation as , which was also the first German animated feature film to be in color that was released in 1969. 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 Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

and

Andy Serkis Andrew Clement Serkis (born 20 April 1964) is an English actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his performance capture roles comprising motion capture acting, animation, and voice work for computer-generated characters such as Goll ...

. A sequel, pets United, was released in 2019 and in Dolby Cinema which exclusively brought the sequel to Netflix.

Plot

The film is set in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Okavango Delta The Okavango Delta (or Okavango Grassland; formerly spelled "Okovango" or "Okovanggo") in Botswana is a swampy inland delta formed where the Okavango River reaches a tectonic trough at an altitude of 930–1,000 m in the central part of the en ...

, and the main characters are a

named Billy and a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

named Socrates. The annual flood has failed to arrive in the Delta, The water has become scarce and the native animals including a herd of rhinos and buffaloes, including Chino and Biggie, fiercely fight over it. Billy and Socrates set out to find more water, and during their quest they enter a scary and dingy place called "The Valley of Death" and then are met by a rag-tag group of animals from across the world: a

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...

named Sushi, a

kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

named Toby, a

Tasmanian devil The Tasmanian devil (''Sarcophilus harrisii'') (palawa kani: purinina) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. Until recently, it was only found on the island state of Tasmania, but it has been reintroduced to New South Wales in ...

named Smiley, two

Galápagos tortoise The Galápagos tortoise or Galápagos giant tortoise (''Chelonoidis niger'') is a species of very large tortoise in the genus ''Chelonoidis'' (which also contains three smaller species from mainland South America). It comprises 15 subspecies ( ...

s named Winifred and Winston, and a

rooster The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

named Charles, all of whom have had their lives ruined by humans in some way and have travelled to Africa. That night, Socrates tells Billy the tragic story of how he and his brother Mambo entered "The Valley of Death" and how Mambo was shot a strange poacher. The next morning, the animals discover the reason for the lack of water in the Delta: a dam has been constructed to supply energy for a luxury resort called the Eden Paradise Hotel which is for the Climate Conference owned by a man named Mr. Smith. The animals meet a

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative th ...

named Toto who is the hotel's mascot, Toto helps the animals get their water back, however, a poacher named Hunter 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. The animals then began to send a message by letting a swarm of

locusts Locusts (derived from the Vulgar Latin ''locusta'', meaning grasshopper) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumst ...

teach the humans a lesson for stealing the water by eating everything in their conference room, including their documents and their clothes. Billy rescues Socrates and they escape down a chute with the help from Toto. The animals chase Hunter and threaten to lower him to the den of tigers if he doesn't tell them why he blocked the water, ending with Billy doing a well-karate chop knocking the poacher out. The water then comes out of the dam making everyone celebrate the return of the water and invite Toto to live with them.

Characters

Meerkats

*Billy is an adventurous, clumsy, easily scared but good-hearted and caring

green-eyed Eye color is a polygenic phenotypic character determined by two distinct factors: the pigmentation of the eye's iris and the frequency-dependence of the scattering of light by the turbid medium in the stroma of the iris. In humans, the ...

gray

who wants to find water to drink - to collect which he carries a

bottle A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids. Its mouth, at the bottling line, can be sealed with an internal stop ...

made out of an orange

gourd Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly ''Cucurbita'' and ''Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. One of the earli ...

, complete with

cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. He also likes to

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

, drum and sing. *Bonnie - Billy's wife and loyal but concerned member of the meerkat family. She has tan

fur Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

and light brown eyes compared to her husband's gray fur and green eyes. *Junior - the son of Billy and Bonnie who aspires to do some of the things his father does, such as collecting water in a gourd. *Other meerkats - often tease Junior about his father's promise, but are convinced at the end.

Other animals

*Socrates - A vegetarian

African lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

with a scar on his face and Billy's best friend. His dream is for all animals to be on harmony *Angie - The

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

with blond hair tied in a ponytail. *Giselle - A

reticulated giraffe The reticulated giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata'' or ''G. reticulata''), also known as the Somali giraffe, is a subspecies or species of giraffe native to the Horn of Africa. It lives in Somalia, southern Ethiopia, and northern Ken ...

with

makeup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

on her face and blond bangs on her head. She is also Angie's best friend. *Winston - An elderly male

who has been alive for more than 700 years. He's 12 years older than his wife, Winifred. He dies shortly before the climax of the film. *Winifred - An elderly female Galápagos tortoise and Winston's wife who is also more than 700 years old. She and her husband die shortly before the film's climax. *Charles - The

with a French accent who leads the other animals on some revolution against human

oppression Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment or exercise of power, often under the guise of governmental authority or cultural opprobrium. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced. Oppression refers to discrimination w ...

, originally served as

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...

on a cruise ship. *Sushi - A

who has been forced from her home by global warming. *Toby - A

red kangaroo The red kangaroo (''Osphranter rufus'') is the largest of all kangaroos, the largest terrestrial mammal native to Australia, and the largest extant marsupial. It is found across mainland Australia, except for the more fertile areas, such as sou ...

with droopy ears. Despite being a male Toby has a pouch. He likes to drink from cans. *Ken - A

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

koala The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the womb ...

who's been rescued by a man after another set the

outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...

on fire. *Smiley - The

whom Toby befriends. In addition to his lack of intelligence, clumsiness and inability to speak, Smiley is notorious for his terrible

flatulence Flatulence, in humans, is the expulsion of gas from the intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas may be swallowed environm ...

, but he is also caring, friendly and loyal. *Toto - The

who served as an animal test subject at the hotel. *Biggie - A red-haired

Southern white rhinoceros The southern white rhinoceros or southern white rhino (''Ceratotherium simum simum'') is one of the two subspecies of the white rhinoceros (the other being the much rarer northern white rhinoceros). It is the most common and widespread subspecie ...

who fights Chino in a butting over drinks *Chino - A cape buffalo who fights Biggie. *Bob - The

aardvark The aardvark ( ; ''Orycteropus afer'') is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlike ...

who trumpets like an elephant. *The Leopard - A

black leopard A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been ...

living in the canyon and becomes a vegetarian after fearing Charles for his courageous act. *Bongo - A

maroon leaf monkey The maroon langur, maroon leaf monkey, or red leaf monkey (''Presbytis rubicunda'') is a member of the family Cercopithecidae. It is found on the southeast Asian island of Borneo and the nearby smaller Karimata. ''P. rubicunda'' mostly live in fo ...

that works as a hairdresser for other animals and also poses as an

oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...

Humans

*Mr. Smith - the tour guide of the hotel who initially cares nothing for animals and is interested only in making money. At the end, when the animals have got their water back, his hotel goes bankrupt. *Maya Smith - Smith's animal-loving daughter. *Hunter - a unnamed selfish and unscrupulous poacher. He has earlier killed Socrates' brother Mambo, but is defeated by the animals near the end of the movie.

Voice cast

German

as Erdmännchen Billy *

as Löwe Sokrates *

Bastian Pastewka Bastian Pastewka (born 4 April 1972) is a German actor and comedian. In Bochum, he first became known to a wider audience in Germany around 1996 as a regular cast member of the comedy show ''Die Wochenshow'' (engl.: The Weekly Show), essentiall ...

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 Christoph Maria Herbst (born 9 February 1966) is a German actor and comedian. Early life Herbst was born in Wuppertal. After passing the Abitur, he became a trainee banker and was active at the free theatre scene in Wuppertal at the same time ...

as Hahn Charles *

Oliver Kalkofe Oliver Lars Fred Kalkofe (born 12 September 1965) is a German satirist, columnist, book author, actor, voice actor, writer and audiobook narrator. Life and career Kalkofe was born in Hanover. He grew up in Engelbostel and Peine. After passing t ...

as Hoteldirektor Smith *Frank Schaff as Erdmännchen * Tilo Schmitz as Nashorn Biggie *

Santiago Ziesmer Santiago Ziesmer (born 25 July 1953) is a Spanish-born German actor and voice actor. Career Ziesmer trained in theater from 1972 to 1975 in the theater studio "Hanny Herter" in Berlin. Since 1973, he has regularly acted in theater. He has had a ...

as Affiger Friseur Bongo

English dub

* James Corden as Billy the Meerkat *

as Socrates the Lion *

Dawn French Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian, presenter and writer. French is known for writing and starring on the BBC comedy sketch show ''French and Saunders'' with her best friend and comedy partner, Jennifer Saunde ...

as Angie the Elephant *

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992 ...

as Giselle the Giraffe * Jim Broadbent as Winston the Tortoise *

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, two ...

as Winifred the Tortoise *

Billie Piper Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer. She initially gained recognition as a singer after releasing her debut single "Because We Want To" at age 15, which made her the youngest woman ...

as Bonnie the Meerkat *

Tom Wayland Tom Wayland is an American voice actor, voice director and producer who is the Supervising Director at 3Beep productions, which works on English-language dubs of Japanese anime and other global animations. He previously worked for Central Park M ...

as Bob the Aardvark *

as Charles the Cockerel * Jason Donovan as Toby the Kangaroo *

Omid Djalili Omid Djalili ( fa, امید جلیلی; born 30 September 1965) is a British actor, comedian and writer. Early life and education Djalili was born on 30 September 1965 in Chelsea, London, to Iranian Baháʼí parents. He attended Holland Park ...

as Bongo the Monkey * Mischa Goodman as Junior the Meerkat *

Bella Hudson Erica Schroeder (born April 27, 1975),https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=828626443878803&id=164914246916696 sometimes credited as Bella Hudson, is an American voice actress, best known for her role as Ilvira in the Netflix animate ...

as Sushi the Polar Bear *

Oliver Green Oliver Green (born December 1951) is an author and transport historian who has written widely on the history of public transport in London, and in particular on the art and design of London Transport. He is the former head curator and now resea ...

as Ken the Koala * Jason Griffith as Toto the Chimpanzee *

Sean Schemmel Sean Schemmel (born November 21, 1968) is an American voice actor, ADR director and screenwriter known chiefly for his work in cartoons, anime and video games. His most notable voice role has been the adult version of Goku, Son Goku in the Funim ...

as Biggie the Rhinoceros * Marc Thompson as Chino the Buffalo *

Oliver Wyman Oliver Wyman is an American management consulting firm. Founded in New York City in 1984 by former Booz Allen Hamilton partners Alex Oliver and Bill Wyman, the firm has more than 60 offices in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia- ...

as Smiley the Tasmanian Devil * Ruben Lloyd,

Jimmy Zoppi James Carter Cathcart (born March 8, 1954) is an American voice actor, script adaptor, voice director, pianist and vocalist known for providing the English voice for James, Meowth and Professor Oak in the ''Pokémon'' franchise since 2005. Ca ...

and Gary McHenley as

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

s * Michael Glover as Mr. Smith *

Kim Holland Kim Holland (born August 6, 1955) is an American politician and insurance professional from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Holland served as the Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner until January 2011. She was appointed to that position by Governor Brad He ...

as Maya Smith *

Veronica Taylor Kathleen Charlotte McInerney, also known by her stage name Veronica Taylor is an American voice actress known for her dubbing work in English-language adaptations of Japanese anime, in particular for voicing Ash Ketchum and his mother Delia in ...

as The

Mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America * Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...

Marc Diraison Marc R. Diraison (born February 7, 1975) is an American voice actor, Dubbing (filmmaking), ADR director, and screenwriter, script writer who has worked for Bang Zoom! Entertainment, NYAV Post, 4Kids Entertainment and DuArt Film and Video. He is ...

as Peter Cook the TV News Reporter *

Doug Preis Doug Preis is an American voice actor, best known for his role as Phil Funnie, Chalky Studebaker, Willie White, Walter "Skunky" Beaumont, Bill Bluff and Vice Principal Lamarr Bone on '' Doug''. Roles * '' Doug'' - Mr. Phil Funnie, Chalky, Willi ...

as Hunter

Production

The film was produced by German company

Constantin Film The Constantin Film AG is a German mini-major film production and distribution company based in Munich. The company, which belongs to Swiss media conglomerate Highlight Communications AG, is a large independent German maker and distributor of pr ...

. 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 US 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 unfavourable, with the aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

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 ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

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 A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

for the film was composed by David Newman. It features songs performed by various artists, including

Naturally 7 Naturally 7 is an American music group with a distinct a cappella style they call "vocal play," which, according to group leader Roger Thomas, is "the art of becoming an instrument using the human voice to create the sound." They simulate the so ...

, Charles Trénet and

Xavier Naidoo Xavier Kurt Naidoo (German: �kseːviɐ naɪˈduː born 2 October 1971) is a German soul and R&B singer, songwriter and record producer. He is a founding member of German band Söhne Mannheims, and started two record labels, Beats Around the ...

. It was released on 7 December 2010 in Germany through Königskinder Music in CD and digital download formats, and is also available on iTunes.Animals United (Original Soundtrack) on iTunes
''

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

'' Retrieved September 9, 2014

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

* {{Reinhard Klooss 2010 films 2010 3D films 2010 comedy films 2010 fantasy films 2010 computer-animated films 2010s German animated films 2010s children's adventure films 2010s children's comedy films 2010s children's fantasy films 2010s children's animated films 2010s adventure comedy films 2010s fantasy adventure films 2010s fantasy comedy films 2010s English-language films 2010s German-language films German 3D films German computer-animated films German children's adventure films German children's comedy films German animated fantasy films German adventure comedy films German fantasy adventure films German fantasy comedy films Remakes of German films Animated adventure films Animated comedy films 3D animated films English-language German films Animated films based on novels Films based on German novels Animated films based on children's books Films based on works by Erich Kästner Films about meerkats Animated films about families Animated films about lions Films about turtles Animated films about reptiles and amphibians Films about chickens Films about polar bears Animated films about kangaroos and wallabies Animated films about koalas Fictional Tasmanian devils Fictional chimpanzees Animated films about apes Talking animals in fiction Films about hunters Films about death Films set in Africa Animated films set in New York (state) Animated films set in New York City Films directed by Reinhard Klooss Films scored by David Newman 2010s German films