Variety by Peter Debruge

Whether dangling characters off the edge of a cliff or zooming around Crusoe’s rickety wooden waterslide, the story is constantly on the go, launching objects and characters along the Z axis — and out over the audiences’ heads.

RogerEbert.com by Sheila O'Malley

The film tries to pack in a little bit too much in its running time, and there isn't a comedic moment until well into the film, a strange choice in a movie for kids, but The Wild Life has its moments of charm, hilarity, and slapstick that worked really well.

The New York Times by Helen T. Verongos

The Wild Life is pretty to look at, with its skies and ocean, calm or stormy, and it has a driving soundtrack. But the story lacks that extra layer of complexity and meaning that parents can appreciate.

Los Angeles Times by Katie Walsh

The Wild Life is a family-friendly take on the story of Crusoe, with a twist, and kids no doubt will be drawn to the colorful animal characters, but there's a lack of emotional connection that makes the film just another cartoon flick, not a special favorite or animated classic.

The Hollywood Reporter by Jordan Mintzer

It’s all rather trite if easygoing entertainment aimed at the 6-and-under set, with A Turtle’s Tale creator Ben Stassen (credited as producer) and director Vincent Kesteloot delivering a colorful 3D adventure that lacks the sophistication of a Zootopia or Kung Fu Panda, but thankfully avoids some of their snark as well.

The Guardian by Mike McCahill

Each helter-skelter turn throws up story and design elements you’ll have seen better programmed elsewhere.

Austin Chronicle by Steve Davis

Any adult attending this film with a pre-K offspring may need to reassure the child afterward that little Tigger back home won’t devour him in his sleep. No kidding. They’re that scary. The Wild Life is an ailurophobe’s nightmare.

New York Daily News by Raakhee Mirchandani

Felines, too often maligned as conniving and sly, get no love in The Wild Life, a tale that's inspired by Robinson Crusoe and perpetuates dangerous kitty stereotypes. And that's the best part of the movie.

Boston Globe by Tom Russo

The Wild Life, while pleasant, is just too flat to meet the challenge.

Movie Nation by Roger Moore

The colors are vibrant, the sea, palm trees, birds, bird-feathers and Crusoe’s red hair are almost photo-realistic. But as a kids’ cartoon, Wild Life is a an utter dud.

San Francisco Chronicle

It’s bland. It’s benign.

The A.V. Club by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky

The sort of uninspired international pre-sales item that usually goes straight from a basement booth at the Cannes film market to a Netflix parent’s peripheral vision. The sole interesting thing about NWave’s animation is its use of the camera, which plays to 3-D’s pop-out factor.

TheWrap by Claudia Puig

Nothing feels remotely fresh, let alone savage or zany in The Wild Life. It’s a dull, uninspired and frantically tedious animated re-telling of the Robinson Crusoe story, complete with a menagerie of ditzy, caterwauling beasts.