Animals United
Encyclopedia
Animals United is a 2010 German animated film directed by Reinhard Klooss and Holger Tappe, starring Ralf Schmitz
and Thomas Fritsch
as a meerkat called Billy and a lion called Socrates in the African Okavango Delta
who go on a quest to discover why their river has unexpectedly dried up. It is based on the 1949 book with the same title by Erich Kästner
. The screenplay for the film was written by Oliver Huzly and Reinhard Kloos and the soundtrack was composed by David Newman
. An English-language dub stars James Cordon and Stephen Fry
.
) sets out to find water with his best friend, a disillusioned lion called Socrates (Stephen Fry
). On their journey, they meet a motley crew of animals searching for a new home after their habitats have been destroyed by fire, oil spills and or other man-made disasters. Billy discovers the reason for the lack of water in the delta: a dam has been constructed to supply energy for a luxury resort. Socrates is captured and caged and while he awaits transit to a Las Vegas casino, the animals befriend Toto (Jason Griffith), a chimpanzee who is dressed like a human and entrusted to carry out maintenance tasks at the resort. Despite being hunted by the hotel's head of security, the animals not only break Socrates free but break down the dam that is holding back their water supply. The film ends with the animals marching on New York
to let the world know that the animal kingdom is under threat from man.
reports that 29% of critics have given the film a positive review.
Ralf Schmitz
Ralf Schmitz is a German actor.- Filmography :* since 2003: Genial daneben – Die Comedy Arena* 2004–2006: Schillerstraße* 2002–2005: Die Dreisten Drei Ralf Schmitz (* 3 November 1974 in Leverkusen) is a German actor.- Filmography :* since 2003: Genial daneben – Die Comedy Arena* 2004–2006:...
and Thomas Fritsch
Thomas Fritsch
Thomas Fritsch is a German television actor. He starred voicing Scar in the German dub of The Lion King.He is the son of actor Willy Fritsch.-Actor:* Das gibt's nur zweimal...
as a meerkat called Billy and a lion called Socrates in the African Okavango Delta
Okavango Delta
The Okavango Delta , in Botswana, is the world's largest inland delta. It is formed where the Okavango River empties onto a swamp in an endorheic basin in the Kalahari Desert, where most of the water is lost to evaporation and transpiration instead of draining into the sea...
who go on a quest to discover why their river has unexpectedly dried up. It is based on the 1949 book with the same title by Erich Kästner
Erich Kästner
Emil Erich Kästner was a German author, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known for his humorous, socially astute poetry and children's literature.-Dresden 1899–1919:...
. The screenplay for the film was written by Oliver Huzly and Reinhard Kloos and the soundtrack was composed by David Newman
David Newman (composer)
David Louis Newman is an American composer and conductor known particularly for his film scores. In a career spanning nearly forty years, he has composed music for nearly 100 feature films.-Life and career:...
. An English-language dub stars James Cordon and Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
.
Plot
The annual flood has failed to arrive in Africa's Okavango Delta and water is scarce and fiercely fought over. Wanting to prove to his son, Junior (Mischa Goodman), Billy the meerkat (James CordenJames Corden
James Kimberley Corden is an English actor, television writer, producer and presenter. He is co-creator and star of BBC comedy shows Gavin & Stacey and Horne & Corden, and acted in the 2009 film Lesbian Vampire Killers....
) sets out to find water with his best friend, a disillusioned lion called Socrates (Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
). On their journey, they meet a motley crew of animals searching for a new home after their habitats have been destroyed by fire, oil spills and or other man-made disasters. Billy discovers the reason for the lack of water in the delta: a dam has been constructed to supply energy for a luxury resort. Socrates is captured and caged and while he awaits transit to a Las Vegas casino, the animals befriend Toto (Jason Griffith), a chimpanzee who is dressed like a human and entrusted to carry out maintenance tasks at the resort. Despite being hunted by the hotel's head of security, the animals not only break Socrates free but break down the dam that is holding back their water supply. The film ends with the animals marching on New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to let the world know that the animal kingdom is under threat from man.
German Cast
- Ralf SchmitzRalf SchmitzRalf Schmitz is a German actor.- Filmography :* since 2003: Genial daneben – Die Comedy Arena* 2004–2006: Schillerstraße* 2002–2005: Die Dreisten Drei Ralf Schmitz (* 3 November 1974 in Leverkusen) is a German actor.- Filmography :* since 2003: Genial daneben – Die Comedy Arena* 2004–2006:...
as Erdmännchen Billy - Thomas FritschThomas FritschThomas Fritsch is a German television actor. He starred voicing Scar in the German dub of The Lion King.He is the son of actor Willy Fritsch.-Actor:* Das gibt's nur zweimal...
as Löwe Sokrates - Bastian PastewkaBastian PastewkaBastian Pastewka is a German actor and comedian.He first became known to a wider audience in Germany around 1996 as a regular cast member of the comedy show Die Wochenshow , essentially a mock news program...
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 HerbstChristoph Maria HerbstChristoph Maria Herbst is a German actor and comedian.-Life and theatre career:After passing the Abitur, Herbst became a banker apprentice and was active at the free theatre scene in Wuppertal at the same time. In 1986, he was a founding member of the private Theater in Cronenberg and its acting...
as Hahn Charles - Oliver KalkofeOliver KalkofeOliver Kalkofe is a German satirist, columnist, book author and actor.- Career :Kalkofe grew up in Langenhagen-Engelbostel near Hanover and in Peine...
as Hoteldirektor Smith - Frank Schaff as Erdmännchen
- Tilo SchmitzTilo SchmitzTilo Schmitz is a German voice actor from Radebeul. Having a deep, sonorous, basso voice, Schmitz is the official dub-over artist of Christopher Judge, Michael Clarke Duncan, Ving Rhames, Abraham Benrubi and Ron Perlman.-Television animation:...
as Nashorn Biggie - Santiago ZiesmerSantiago ZiesmerSantiago Ziesmer is a Spanish-born German actor and voice actor.-Career:Santiago Ziesmer trained in theater from 1972 to 1975 in the theater studio "Hanny Herter" in Berlin. Since 1973, he has regularly acted in theater...
as Affiger Friseur Bongo
English Cast
- James CordenJames CordenJames Kimberley Corden is an English actor, television writer, producer and presenter. He is co-creator and star of BBC comedy shows Gavin & Stacey and Horne & Corden, and acted in the 2009 film Lesbian Vampire Killers....
as Billy the MeerkatMeerkatThe meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta, is a small mammal belonging to the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan"... - Stephen FryStephen FryStephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
as Socrates the LionLionThe lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger... - Dawn French as Angie the ElephantElephantElephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
- Joanna LumleyJoanna LumleyJoanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
as Giselle the GiraffeGiraffeThe giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant... - Jim BroadbentJim BroadbentJames "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, Hot Fuzz, and Bridget Jones' Diary...
as Winston the Giant TortoiseGiant tortoiseGiant tortoises are characteristic reptiles of certain tropical islands. Often reaching enormous size—they can weigh as much as 300 kg and can grow to be 1.3 m long—they live, or lived , in the Seychelles, the Mascarenes and the Galapagos... - Vanessa RedgraveVanessa RedgraveVanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
as Winnie the Giant TortoiseGiant tortoiseGiant tortoises are characteristic reptiles of certain tropical islands. Often reaching enormous size—they can weigh as much as 300 kg and can grow to be 1.3 m long—they live, or lived , in the Seychelles, the Mascarenes and the Galapagos... - Jason DonovanJason DonovanJason Donovan is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 million records, and his début album Ten Good Reasons was one of the highest-selling albums of 1989...
as Toby the KangarooKangarooA kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country... - Mischa Goodman as Junior, Billy's Son
- Jason Griffith as Toto the ChimpanzeeChimpanzeeChimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
- Andy SerkisAndy SerkisAndrew Clement G. "Andy" Serkis is an English actor, director and author. He is popularly known for playing Gollum in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he earned several award nominations, including the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Two Towers...
as Charles the RoosterRoosterA rooster, also known as a cockerel, cock or chanticleer, is a male chicken with the female being called a hen. Immature male chickens of less than a year's age are called cockerels... - Kim HollandKim HollandKim Holland is an American politician and insurance professional from the US state of Oklahoma. Holland served as the Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner until January 2011. She was appointed to that position by Governor Brad Henry in 2005, following the indictment and resignation of her predecessor,...
as Maya - Ben HowardBen HowardBen W. Howard is an American poet, essayist, and critic. He is the author of eight books, including a collection of essays on Zen practice, five collections of poems, a verse novella, and a critical study of modern Irish writing...
as Chef de Cuisine - Bella Hudson as Sushi the Polar BearPolar BearThe polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
- Marc DiraisonMarc DiraisonMarc Diraison is an American voice actor, ADR director, and script writer who has worked for 4Kids Entertainment, DuArt Film and Video and NYAV Post...
as Cook - Omid DjaliliOmid DjaliliOmid Djalili is a British Iranian stand-up comedian, actor, television producer and writer.-Personal life:Djalili was born in Chelsea, London to Iranian Bahá'í parents and is a Bahá'í himself...
as Bongo the monkeyMonkeyA monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys... - Michael GloverMichael GloverMichael Glover served in the British army during World War II, after which he joined the British Council and became a professional author...
as Mr. Smith - Oliver Green as Ken the KoalaKoalaThe koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....
- Veronica TaylorVeronica TaylorVeronica Taylor is an American voice actress. Taylor is best known for her dubbing work in English-language anime adaptations, in particular for voicing Ash Ketchum in the English dub of the Japanese anime, Pokémon....
as The Mole - Tom WaylandTom WaylandTom Wayland is an American musician, actor, voice actor, ADR director, producer and dubbing supervisor who works for 4Kids Entertainment, DuArt Film and Video, NYAV Post, Real Recording LLC, Matlin Recording LLC, Beatstreet Studios and Audioworks Producers Group. He previously worked for Central...
as Bob the AardvarkAardvarkThe aardvark is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa...
or AnteaterAnteaterAnteaters, also known as antbear, are the four mammal species of the suborder Vermilingua commonly known for eating ants and termites. Together with the sloths, they compose the order Pilosa... - Billie PiperBillie PiperBillie Paul Piper is an English singer and actress.She began her career in the late 1990s as a pop singer and then switched to acting. She started in acting and dancing and was talent spotted at the Sylvia Young stage school by Smash Hits magazine who wanted a "face" for their magazine...
as Bonnie the meerkatMeerkatThe meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta, is a small mammal belonging to the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan"... - Sean SchemmelSean SchemmelSean Schemmel is an American voice actor, ADR director, and script writer who has worked for NYAV Post, Bandai Entertainment, Funimation Entertainment, OkraTron 5000, DuArt Film and Video, and 4Kids Entertainment...
as Biggie the RhinocerosRhinocerosRhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia.... - Marc Thompson as Chino the African BuffaloAfrican BuffaloThe African buffalo, affalo, nyati, Mbogo or Cape buffalo is a large African bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild Asian water buffalo, but its ancestry remains unclear...
- Pete ZarusticaPete ZarusticaOliver Wyman is an American voice actor who has worked on many animated features, television shows, and video games. He has also narrated over 150 audiobooks. His audiobook recordings have won five Audie Awards from the Audio Publisher's Association, fourteen Earphone Awards from AudioFile...
as Smiley the Tasmanian devilTasmanian DevilThe Tasmanian devil is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae, now found in the wild only on the Australian island state of Tasmania. The size of a small dog, it became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936... - Elisabeth Williams as MeerkatMeerkatThe meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta, is a small mammal belonging to the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan"...
1 - Jessica Owen as MeerkatMeerkatThe meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta, is a small mammal belonging to the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan"...
2 - Ruben Lloyd as VultureVultureVulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
1 - Billy Beach as VultureVultureVulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
2 - Gary McHenley as VultureVultureVulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
3 - Veronica TaylorVeronica TaylorVeronica Taylor is an American voice actress. Taylor is best known for her dubbing work in English-language anime adaptations, in particular for voicing Ash Ketchum in the English dub of the Japanese anime, Pokémon....
As The MoleMole (animal)Moles are small cylindrical mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have velvety fur; tiny or invisible ears and eyes; and short, powerful limbs with large paws oriented for digging. The term is especially and most properly used for the true moles, those of the Talpidae family in the... - Frank WelkerFrank WelkerFranklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
as LeopardLeopardThe leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
and SharkSharkSharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
(uncanceled)
Reception
Review aggregation website Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 29% of critics have given the film a positive review.