Kleine Helden, große Wildnis 2 - Abenteuer Serengeti

Richard Boddington's Against the Wild II: Survive The Serengeti is a wonderful new family film that toughly enjoyed watching. Only recently did I take up watching much of Boddington's work, and I got to say a great many of his movies show great examples of what appeals to families and children.

Like Mr. Boddington's first Against the Wild, this one follows the exploits of two children (brother and sister), who must survive in a land overran by dangerous animals, where they must show survival skills and 'pull together' to make it through. Being a fan of Gary Paulsen when I was younger, I cannot help but draw parallels to 'Hatchet' and 'Brains Winter' when I watch either installment of Against the Wild.

While the first 'Against the Wild' saw the children surviving in the Canadian forest, this one delves into a much richer and colorful landscape – what appears to be South Africa. I felt that the second installment played a little better than did the first, mainly due to (at least in my opinion) better chemistry between the two children, and much better chemistry between the parents.

It's hard to write this review without giving away too many spoilers, but just suffice it to say that it's a great family- friendly movie that I'd encourage anyone with children to watch. It was a great 90 minutes of entertainment. Heck, even if you don't have kids – both installments are still worth the watch.

When I was a kid Saturday and Sunday afternoons were filled with old movies about adventures in Africa or other exotic locations. Tarzan, Jungle Jim, Bomba the Jungle Boy, even the 'Road' films with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. AGAINST THE WILD 2: SURVIVE THE SERENGETI is reminiscent of these movies.

Emma and Ryan Croft board a small plane to visit their father at the mine where he works. The airplane is shot down by Rebel fire and crashes, severely injuring the pilot. The two children, along with the mine owner's dog, must make their way to civilization and safety by traveling through the dangerous African bush. Their journey is fraught with danger and wonder as they rely on their wits to survive.

AGAINST THE WILD 2: SURVIVE THE SERENGETI has some spectacular scenery, and up close interaction with wildlife. Although there are scenes of children in peril they are not so intense as to cause nightmares. In all this is a good family movie especially for the hard to find safe things to watch ages of 5 to 12.

Many scenes using computer animation allowed this movie to display many animals of Africa and this was a big plus. I have younger kids and this kept them entertained despite not being a fully animated motion picture. While my kids enjoyed it, it was tough for me as an adult to sit through the entire story line even though my wife and I watched the whole thing by ourselves. There are some twists and turns that simply aren't realistic but neither is the plot. If you're looking for a feel good kids movie without needing every scene to be completely realistic then you'll be happy with this. I was glad I got the movie but I think there could have been a stronger attempt to make it stay closer to reality.

We watched this film with our 11 year old son and found it to be so unbelievable. Half way through the film things got to be more interesting when the wound on Emma's face hopped from her left cheek to her right, then hopped back and forth throughout the remainder of the film. It also changed size and location on the cheeks. So funny but dreadfully poor work on the entire production team. Just where was the dog going in between shots - I think he was trying to get out of being in such a crap film!! The whole story line was so poor - 15 planes and helicopters sent out to find them, but they couldn't manage to find a plane which had traveled only a short distance for several days. So many points I could make but really I've wasted enough time watching the film to start with. Lets hope they never make a third movie!