It doesn’t possess the detail and snap of most of its much glossier, more substantive theatrical brethren, but animated family adventure Delhi Safari has enough cute critters and uncomplicated fun to easily and enjoyably occupy the under-8 set, for whom it is most intended.
The movie’s story centers on the (requisite) pack of mismatched, wacky animals — a leopard cub and his mother, a peace-loving bear, a mischievous monkey and a wisecracking parrot — who travel to the big city in an effort to protect the destruction of their beloved jungle habitat. The voice cast (including Jason Alexander, Cary Elwes, Jane Lynch, Christopher Lloyd and Brad Garrett) lean heavily on their existent personas, cast as they are to type. Director Nikhil Advani keeps the pace of this Indian-produced movie moving, while composer Shankar Ehsaan Loy and lyricist Sameer contribute a number of peppy music numbers to complement its warm, big-faced character design. Still, there’s a certain generic haze that hangs over the endeavor’s plotting — a sloppiness and lack of attention to detail embodied by the fact that Elwes’ name is misspelled on the DVD cover box. Kids won’t notice, really, but adults and slightly older viewers will.
Delhi Safari comes to DVD housed in a regular plastic Amaray case, stored in turn in a complementary cardboard slipcover with raised embossed lettering and art. Its 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is solid, and free of any edge enhancement or grain issues. Ditto a straightforward Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound audio presentation, which is fine on all the dialogue and uses the rear channels for just a bit of atmosphere. Apart from chapter stops and a Vudu digital copy, there are unfortunately no other supplemental features. C+ (Movie) D (Disc)