Christmas in the Wild

I always fancy an African Safari and this movie just pandered to my taste. It just takes you away to a totally different world. Forget logic just sit back and indulge in it.

A perfect movie to spend a pleasant moment. Good cinematography and acting. The only thing I would reproach is that it doesn't feel much as a Christmas movie. It do not transmit that Christmas spirit, that often Christmas movies does. However, with more than a month before christmas, is perfect to watch in family .

The story in and of itself is nothing original or surprising. The story doesn't make much sense and the dialogue is super cheesy. But it's a feel-good movie and the scenery is gorgeous.

This is a nice little movie. My only issues are with the lack of actual Zambian culture. My reference: I'm married to a Zambian. There are a couple locations I know for sure are in Zambia, the original hotel and the elephant orphanage are real locations in Zambia. The "local" characters are mostly not played by Zambian actors, there is no Zambian music, and almost none of the Zambian languages. There is more Swahili and Zulu in the film than any of the 140+ languages that exist in Zambia. Also, Christmas isn't really celebrated in Zambia, at least not how it's portrayed in the film. It's a shame really, it's a beautiful country with a rich culture and they didn't access really any of it.

The movie isn't great, but the story and the message it brings is. Well worth the time to watch. I have enjoyed these these actors on screen in other presentations, but I fear the director did not optimize their talents in this film- yet their conveyance of the elephants' plight rings strong and true. This movie makes me want to return to Africa with haste.