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Holiday in the Wild Reviews

Beyond satire.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | May 23, 2020

It's a nicey-nice movie and hollow but there's an audience for it somewhere

Full Review | Nov 28, 2019

Elephant refuge is setting for love, life-changing moments.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 15, 2019

Holiday in the Wild delivers on the cute elephants, and not much else.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/10 | Nov 11, 2019

Cute baby elephants dress up this limp romance, which has just enough holiday treacle to drown in

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Nov 4, 2019

...mostly watchable yet entirely forgettable...

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Nov 3, 2019

Davis is a particular delight and all the elephants are adorable-and no other Christmas movie this year can claim to have Kristin Davis and elephants.

Full Review | Nov 1, 2019

It's cheesy, it's stupid, but it's also really quite charming.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 1, 2019

To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories .

42 Things I Thought While Watching the Netflix Movie Holiday in the Wild

Warning: Contains spoilers.

There’s nothing in the world quite like a Netflix holiday movie . Picking up the mantle of extra-cheesy Christmas rom-coms from Lifetime and Hallmark, the streaming service is unnaturally—might we say algorithmically—skilled at creating movies that you know are empirically bad, but are still capable of making you tear up after a glass or four of mulled wine.

Among the latest slate of Netflix holiday films is a movie called Holiday in the Wild , which stars Kristin Davis and Rob Lowe as star-crossed lovers on an elephant sanctuary at Christmas. The moment I read the description, I knew I would cancel plans with actual, existing human friends to watch it in one sitting, and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Below are the musings that came to mind while I did so.

I hope Kristin Davis is having a nice life post- SATC . I’m proud of her for refusing to take sides in that whole Kim Cattrall vs. Sarah Jessica Parker beef.

Love it when when a movie uses the hustle and bustle of New York traffic to telegraph that its protagonist is overwhelmed and needs! a! vacation!

Kristin Davis's husband has strong Craigslist Killer energy. Good thing she’s about to divorce him!

Why are these extras wearing short-sleeved shirts if it’s Christmas in New York? Is this a meta-commentary on global warming? Go off, Netflix.

Kristin Davis’s character used to be a vet, which I feel will become important later on.

Why is Kristin Davis’s son leaving to start college in December? What college semester starts immediately before the holidays? What time of year IS IT?

Kristin Davis and Craigslist Killer split up .5 seconds after their son is out the door for weird fake Christmas college, which seems...a bit sudden. Especially since Kristin booked them second-honeymoon tickets to Africa! (The whole continent, apparently.)

Craigslist Killer really said, “I’ll send for my things.” Ice-cold.

Okay, some clarity achieved on the Africa front; Kristin Davis is going to Zambia, as you can see from the helpful “Zambia Travel Guide.”

Kristin Davis has touched down in Lusaka, Zambia, in a cream-color top and immaculate skirt—just what one wears when embarking on a 20-hour flight. She quickly changes into a leopard-print slip dress and starts chugging martinis, which is, of course, a mood.

Rob Lowe time! This handsome, rugged stranger plays poker with the bartender, so you know he’s chill.

Well, of course he’s also a handsome, rugged pilot. We love a man who can do stuff!

On their flight, Rob Lowe helpfully reminds Kristin Davis that buffalo aren’t the most dangerous animals out here: “We are.” You simply cannot make this stuff up!

Rob Lowe and Kristin Davis find an orphaned elephant and spring into action.

PSA from Rob Lowe:

Helping the elephant awakens something in Kristin Davis, and they make their way to the Lilayi Elephant Nursery, which, of course, has just been waiting for a white lady to come in and save the day .

All cynicism aside, the baby elephants are very cute. Should I move to an elephant sanctuary?

We learn that Rob Lowe lives at the elephant nursery year-round. What a man, what a man, what a man, what a mighty good man.

“The thing about elephants...they read your soul,” Rob Lowe emotionally tells Kristin Davis. Hell yeah. Also, Rob Lowe has started calling Kristin Davis “New York,” so they’re obviously going to have sex soon.

“Send Me on My Way” by Rusted Root plays over a montage of Kristin Davis, or “Dr. Kate” (oh yes, her character’s name is Kate), helping out using her vet training and freaking loving the simplicity of life on the tranquil, oddly Pinterest-y elephant sanctuary.

Did anyone request “Dr. Kate’s” medical accreditation? I feel like this process would require a fax, at the very least.

Rob Lowe has extreme Jackson Maine energy in this movie.

Rob Lowe and Kristin Davis go on safari. A lot of wildlife shots—arguably too many. Kiss already!

Rob Lowe paints! He is an artist! Remember this for later.

FaceTime session with Kristin Davis’s son at weird fake Christmas college, where he’s surprisingly unperplexed to learn that his type-A New York mom has decamped for an elephant sanctuary in Zambia. If my mom did that, I would have some questions.

The Kiss finally happens, but it’s interrupted by a Mean Blonde Lady straight out of central casting, who has something to do with the organization that funds the sanctuary and is also Rob Lowe’s girlfriend. Drama!

Kristin Davis emails her son to tell him she’s staying longer at the elephant sanctuary. Good roaming WiFi, I guess?

We’ve jumped to three months later, Kristin Davis is still at the elephant sanctuary, and apparently now it’s Christmas. So I guess Kristin Davis’s son—whose name, it should be said, is Luke—just goes to normal, non-fake college. Apologies for my earlier misunderstanding, but Kristin Davis was taking Christmas-card pictures! What kind of person does that in September?

Divorce papers served to a remote elephant sanctuary in Zambia? I have to applaud whatever process server managed to make that happen. Kristin Davis sadly says “I’m going to see my elephant,” to which Rob Lowe replies, “Our elephant.”

We are, somehow, only halfway through this movie.

Surprise visit from Luke! He’s missing a music festival to be in Zambia with his mom, which is the highest sign of respect a Gen Z-er can confer.

Remember when I said Rob Lowe was an artist? This is his art, which made me laugh so hard I choked on my coffee:

Luke is not going back to college, because “I want to make music. That’s what I’m passionate about.” Uh-oh. Kristin Davis is mad, but ultimately accepts it, because she is, after all, Eat Pray Love -ing her way through Zambia.

[Romantic music playing]:

It would be extremely funny if, to artfully signify Kristin Davis and Rob Lowe having sex, the film cut abruptly to zebras mating on the plains, but nobody thought to consult me in the writing of this movie, so there you go.

Mean Blonde Lady finds Rob Lowe’s Kristin Davis art and is not happy about it. Rob Lowe dumps her. She threatens the elephant sanctuary’s funding.

Kristin Davis finally returns to New York and interviews for a vet job. Growth! She also convinces Craigslist Killer ex that it’s fine if their son studies music, as long as he stays in college.

Kristin Davis finds out the elephant sanctuary’s funding is imperiled, and rallies her rich friends to save it. Capitalism: It always works out in the end!

Despite her thriving vet practice, Kristin Davis returns to Zambia to buy Rob Lowe a plate of lobster and kiss the hell out of him. She bought a one-way ticket.

I’m very alone.

The final lines of this movie, as Kristin Davis and Rob Lowe embrace back at the elephant sanctuary? “Do you think he [the elephant] will remember us?” “Of course he will. He’s an elephant.” Classique.

I’m not crying. I’ve never cried in my life. You’re crying, probably.

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Stream It or Skip It: ‘Holiday in the Wild’ on Netflix Pairs Kristin Davis and Rob Lowe with Elephants

Where to stream:.

• Holiday In The Wild

Netflix’s holiday lineup kicks off with Holiday In the Wild , a conventional Christmas romcom set in an unconventional location. But there are two things that this Netflix movie has over all the competition: Kristin Davis and Rob Lowe ! 

HOLIDAY IN THE WILD : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: What do you do when your husband asks for a divorce literally seconds after you send your kid away to college? If you’re Kate Conrad (Kristin Davis) you turn that preplanned second honeymoon into a solo trip to Africa, finding yourself as well as a rugged yet gentle pilot (Rob Lowe).

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Imagine Eat Pray Love or Under the Tuscan Sun with more holiday cheer and the Hallmark aesthetic.

Performance Worth Watching: How can I not talk about Kristin Davis and Rob Lowe here? Both of them are immensely and immediately charming in everything they do, and Holiday In the Wild is no exception. They not only have watchable chemistry with each other, they even have believable affection for elephants and, in Lowe’s case, an airplane named after Captain Kirk. Davis in particular is a delight, taking a role that could’ve very easily been a downer (her husband dusted their marriage with the coldness of a Wall Street Thanos!) and instead filled it with a sense of hope and openness.

Memorable Dialogue: Lowe’s pilot Derek says to Kate after they rescue an orphaned elephant whose mother was killed for her tusks: “The thing about elephants, they read your soul.”

Sex and Skin: You’re not getting any of that here. In true made-for-TV holiday movie tradition, you get a handful of chaste kisses between the leads.

Our Take: Both director Ernie Barbarash and screenwriting duo Neal and Tippi Dobrofsky have plenty of Hallmark Christmas movies on their resumes, and it shows. But Netflix has a big advantage over cable’s dime-a-dozen Christmas movies , in that they literally have a million dimes to throw at their seasonal offerings. That’s how you get A-list TV stars like Davis and Lowe as leads, and that’s how Netflix’s holiday movies get the jump on their competitors. Don’t get me wrong: I love a good, schmaltzy Hallmark holiday movie. That’s why I love seeing one where both the leads are absolute pros. When Rob Lowe self-seriously tells an elephant to “make something of yourself,” I relish the moment .

Solid leads are a big deal for a movie like this, because you aren’t watching Holiday In the Wild (or any other small screen Christmas movie) for the plot. The movie’s mostly conflict-free plot checks all the boxes. Female lead accidentally sees male lead shirtless? Check! A blonde nemesis? Check! A sudden need to fundraise lots of money? Check! You always know where a movie like this is going, and that’s why you need actors that are fun to watch in these roles.

• Stream It Or Skip It

Stream It Or Skip It: 'Universal Basic Guys' On Fox, An Animated Comedy About Philly-Area Brothers With Too Much Time On Their Hands

Stream it or skip it: ‘breathe’ on paramount+, bare-bones post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie pitting milla jovovich vs. jennifer hudson, stream it or skip it: 'his & hers' on the hallmark channel is a wry comedy about married lawyers representing a vapid reality tv couple who's seeking a divorce, stream it or skip it: 'wise guy: david chase and the sopranos' on hbo, where chase discusses his life and how much it contributed to the landmark series.

On the other hand, I totally get why the premise of this one might raise some red flags for some viewers—and not festive Christmas ones, either. This is a movie about a wealthy white woman who goes on a jaunt to Africa, discovers the continents wonders, falls in love with a white man, and together they fight to save an elephant conservatory. There are optics problems there, for sure , but I will say that at least Davis’ character—a character so out of her element that she’s nicknamed “New York”—never once looks down on the culture she’s suddenly embedded in and the film never ventures into tired culture clash comedy. Davis acclimates to her temp gig as an elephant veterinarian in a foreign land with gusto and respect. That respect comes from a real place, too, as elephant conservation has long been Davis’ passion. That wonder in her eyes is real.

Our Call: If you’ve generally been all-in on Netflix’s holiday movies, then I say STREAM IT. Davis is a particular delight and all the elephants are adorable—and no other Christmas movie this year can claim to have Kristin Davis and elephants.

Should you stream or skip #HolidayInTheWild on @netflix ? #SIOSI — Decider (@decider) November 2, 2019

Stream  Holiday In the Wild on Netflix

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• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Holiday in the Wild

Jilted by her husband on the eve of embarking on an African safari, a woman travels to the continent solo and meets an elephant conservationist. Jilted by her husband on the eve of embarking on an African safari, a woman travels to the continent solo and meets an elephant conservationist. Jilted by her husband on the eve of embarking on an African safari, a woman travels to the continent solo and meets an elephant conservationist.

• Ernie Barbarash
• Neal H. Dobrofsky
• Tippi Dobrofsky
• Kristin Davis
• Fezile Mpela
• 189 User reviews
• 29 Critic reviews

Top cast 20

• (as Kghaliso Solomon)

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• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia In real life, Kristin Davis has worked with the orphan elephant rescue and rehabilitation program, Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and has helped to bring attention to conservation issues, such as the illegal ivory trade. She produced the documentary Gardeners of Eden (2014) , which also comments on the ivory trade and how it affects the possible extinction of elephants.
• Goofs When Derek and Kate are awakened by Roi the elephant, their vehicle carries a tarpaulin-covered load immediately behind the seats which projects a good foot above the seat backs. As they drive away, the load is now wider and considerably less tall. Finally, in the aerial shot, the tarp is gone and the space is occupied by a spare tire.

Drew : I just wanna know... in Africa... did you meet someone?

Kate : Yes, I did. I met me.

• Connections Featured in The Knight Before Christmas (2019)
• Soundtracks Wild at Heart Written by Michael Vincent Costello, David Andronico (as David Matthew Andronico) Performed by Anthem Academy Courtesy of Lyric House, LLC

User reviews 189

• Dec 3, 2019
• How long is Holiday in the Wild? Powered by Alexa
• November 1, 2019 (United States)
• United States
• Christmas in the WIld
• South Africa
• Advantage Entertainment
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

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• Runtime 1 hour 25 minutes

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• DVD & Streaming

Holiday in the Wild

• Comedy , Romance

Content Caution

In Theaters

• November 1, 2019
• Kristin Davis as Kate; Rob Lowe as Derek; Fezile Mpela as Jonathan; John Owen Lowe as Luke; Colin Moss as Drew; Thandi Puren as Trish; Hayley Owen as Leslie

Home Release Date

• Ernie Barbarash

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Positive Elements   |   Spiritual Elements   |   Sexual & Romantic Content   |   Violent Content   |   Crude or Profane Language   |   Drug & Alcohol Content   |   Other Noteworthy Elements   | Conclusion

Movie Review

When Kate booked a second honeymoon to go on safari in Africa, she thought it would be the perfect opportunity to reconnect with her husband after sending their son to college. What she didn’t expect was a divorce and an awkward “trip for two” spent alone.

So she decides to make the most of the trip and soon meets elephant conservationist (and part-time safari tour guide) Derek. While giving Kate a safari tour, Derek discovers an injured baby elephant. After arranging for the orphaned animal to be taken to the elephant nursery where he works, Derek prepares to return Kate to her resort. However, Kate’s motherly instincts take over, and she decides to stay with the elephant to help nurse it back to health.

Kate soon takes on a position as a full-time vet (her career before she had her son) for the nursery. But the more time she spends with the elephants, the more she feels like she belongs there and the harder it becomes to return home.

Positive Elements

When Kate first arrives in Africa, she is little more than a tourist, unsure of what she wants to do with her life. But working with the elephants helps Kate to rediscover herself. She remembers how much she enjoyed caring for animals before her son was born, and she realizes how much she loves the new family she has found at the nursery.

Derek initially comes off as a bit of a player, always expecting the women he gets involved with to return home from their African vacations after a couple of weeks. However, when Kate decides to extend her “vacation” in order to keep working with the elephants, his heart softens. Derek realizes he’s finally met someone who loves these creatures as much as he does.

Derek and Jonathan (another worker at the nursery) have made the preservation and reintegration of elephants into the wild their lives’ work. They treat the animals almost like humans, explaining to Kate that elephants can feel the same range of emotions as humans. This, as well as their familial bond to the creatures, is what fuels Derek and Jonathan’s enthusiasm to save as many elephants as they can.

When Kate’s son announces his decision to drop out of college in order to pursue his passion for music, Kate feels as if she has failed him by not being present. But he tells her that it was her courage to go after what she wanted that inspired him. The two of them eventually compromise and decide that he will still go to college, but study music instead.

Kate’s soon-to-be ex-husband redeems himself a bit by purchasing a plane ticket for their son to visit Kate in Africa and by donating money to the elephant nursery to keep it open.

Spiritual Elements

Everyone at the elephant nursery celebrates Christmas together. “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and “Silent Night” can both be heard in the background.

Someone says it’s good luck to name a plane after a woman.

Sexual & Romantic Content

Kate and Derek kiss three times. A man and woman greet each other with double cheek kisses. When a man hugs a woman, his friend gives him a questioning look. He shrugs, saying, “It’s the holidays.”

A woman accidentally walks in on a man wearing pants, but no shirt, as he dries his hair with a towel after a shower. He later says that she did that on purpose.

Kate wears several dresses and tops that bare cleavage. At one point, Derek tells her to remove her shirt (she has a tank top on underneath). She balks at the suggestion, but he just wants to use the shirt to cover a baby elephant’s eyes so it won’t be afraid of them.

Violent Content

A dead elephant lies on the ground, blood pouring from where poachers removed its tusks.

Crude or Profane Language

God’s name is misused once. The British expletive “bloody” is heard once, as is “gosh.”

Drug & Alcohol Content

Kate pops open a bottle of champagne and drinks directly from it. When she meets Derek, she is sipping martinis in a restaurant bar; he later jokes about that encounter. Derek offers Kate a drink from his flask of “eggnog,” which turns out to be just whiskey. Adults drink wine, beer and whiskey.

Other Noteworthy Elements

Kate’s husband is work-obsessed, interrupting important family time for business calls. After he leaves her, Kate throws all his clothes into trash bags and leaves them on a street curb with the sign “free clothes.”

Once she’s in Africa, Kate talks poorly about him, pointing out the career she had to give up in order to put him through grad school, help build his business and raise their son. Her son openly wonders why they stayed together so long, since they didn’t really have much in common.

Derek tells Kate that humans are the most dangerous creatures in Africa. Later, they find an animal that has been killed for its ivory tusks, proving his point.

Two men talk about gambling and playing poker. Derek talks about how his wife passed away. A woman admits that she only funded the elephant nursery because of her romantic interest in Derek.

Holiday in the Wild is everything you expect in a feel-good romantic comedy on the Hallmark Channel. Romance, humor, adorable elephants … it really has it all. Except it’s not on Hallmark. Holiday in the Wild is streaming on Netflix, which seems increasingly willing to borrow Hallmark’s proven rom-com formula.

Derek’s flirting may be cause for some pause, since it teeters right on the edge of being inappropriate (especially since Kate isn’t officially divorced yet). However, after he falls in love with Kate, he hangs up his “player” behavior and puts his career at risk, knowing that it’s better to have a relationship that’s real and honest rather than one that’s simply convenient.

But despite being a story about romance, Holiday in the Wild doesn’t feel too romantic. Kate comes to Africa for a vacation and winds up meeting someone new— herself . Yes, Derek is there too, but Kate really discovers—or perhaps re discovers—who she truly is as a person and what she cares about deeply. She felt lost with her son off to school and her husband leaving. But in the end, Kate rekindles an unexpected passion to create a new family from the friends around her.

Emily Tsiao

Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.

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08 Nov 2019

Holiday in the Wild

WHAT IT'S ABOUT:

To keep her spirits high when their son leaves for college, Manhattanite Kate Conrad (Kristin Davis) has booked a ‘second honeymoon’ with her husband. Instead of thanking her, he brings their relationship to a sudden end; jilted Kate proceeds to Africa for a solo safari. During a detour through Zambia, she helps her pilot, Derek Holliston (Rob Lowe), rescue an orphaned baby elephant. They nurse him back to health at a local elephant orphanage, and Kate extends her stay through Christmastime. Far from the modern luxuries of home, Kate thrives amidst majestic animals and scenery. Her love for the new surroundings just might extend to the man who shared her journey. 

WHAT WE THOUGHT:

At the stroke of midnight on 1 November, Netflix launched the first of many Christmas films to get holiday lovers amped for the festive season.

Surprising as it may sound, Holiday in the Wild is the first cheesy holiday movie that left me a little astonished – while even the title suggests that it is a compilation delightful enough for any Hallmark fan, there are two love stories told.

Ditched by her husband on the eve of embarking on an African safari, Kate (Kristin Davis) travels to the continent alone where she meets elephant conservationist, Derek (Rob Lowe) and so, like many who visit a country on the African continent, she falls in love.

Okay, so the first love story becomes immediately evident and predictable when Kate and Derek first meet, and sure it’s sweet and serves as a great warm-up for the overload of festive films to come, that’s not why I have given this film such a high rating.

The protagonists of Holiday in the Wild are none-other than the breath-taking elephants Kate meets and in turn, falls madly in love with.

"This project is very dear to my heart since it is a love letter to all of the people trying to save elephants,"  Davis wrote alongside a photo of herself while on set in South Africa on Instagram.

And I have to say; it truly is a beautiful love letter to not only elephant conservation but to Africa as well. Director Ernie Barbarash managed to capture what makes an African sunset so perfect and beautiful and even more so, the delicacy and care shown in the way the wild animals are filmed amplifies just how graceful these creatures are and just how important it is to keep them safe.

Holiday in the Wild was predominantly filmed in South Africa and Zambia and in case you find yourself wondering, all elephants filmed were orphaned and rescued due to poaching. "We used wild elephants that were rescued, and we never did anything they didn’t want to do," Kristin shared in an interview with Parade .

And before you go thinking, ‘Okay, so they made a movie about conservation with wild elephants, but that’s all’. That’s not all.

Kristin has been involved in elephant conservation since 2009 and has been working closely with the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust after she came across an orphaned baby elephant in Kenya that same year. Because of her experience and the revelation of how big the poaching crisis is, Davis came up with the idea of educating people about conservation while also entertaining them through the film – a few years of research and a finance injection from Netflix resulted in Holiday in the Wild .

Aside from the rightful spotlight-stealing elephants, I thank Barbarash and his team of producers for not making this a 'Hollywood movie filmed in Africa’. If you are going to film a movie about conservation in an African country, using local resources is of vital importance, and they did that. Not only the location, but paying attention to details such as casting South African actors, including Fezile Mpela – who did a great job portraying Jonathan, the man in charge of the elephants and the orphanage – and using local music just made the film that much more enjoyable to watch.

Yes, Holiday in the Wild is just another rom-com gearing us up for the Christmas season. But it’s also a beautiful illustration of wild creatures that are in grave danger and need protecting. I loved this movie because it reignited my adoration for all things wild and opened my eyes to the importance of the conservation of wild animals and their habitat.

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Holiday in the wild.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 4 Reviews
• Kids Say 2 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Elephant refuge is setting for love, life-changing moments.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Holiday in the Wild is a romantic story set in Africa that's intended to entertain but also to provide audiences with a look at the plight of orphan elephants in the wild whose parents have been slaughtered by ivory poachers. Most of the action takes place on site at Lilayi Elephant…

Why Age 10+?

Disturbing image of dead elephant with her traumatized calf.

Characters consume alcohol (Champagne, beer, martini) in social situations. Lead

Promotes animal welfare organizations.

Any Positive Content?

Advocates for protection of animals in the wild, focusing on elephants. People c

Portrays activists sacrificing their own personal lives to save elephants and pr

Violence & Scariness

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Characters consume alcohol (Champagne, beer, martini) in social situations. Leading character is tipsy in one scene.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

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Positive messages.

Advocates for protection of animals in the wild, focusing on elephants. People can recover from heartbreak by helping others and engaging in the world around them.

Positive Role Models

Portrays activists sacrificing their own personal lives to save elephants and protect animals in the wild. Leading character makes a life change based on finding joy in helping others. She is courageous, resourceful, determined, open to new adventures, and a devoted mom.

Parents need to know that Holiday in the Wild is a romantic story set in Africa that's intended to entertain but also to provide audiences with a look at the plight of orphan elephants in the wild whose parents have been slaughtered by ivory poachers. Most of the action takes place on site at Lilayi Elephant Orphanage in Zambia. With the exception of a scene in which the heroes discover an elephant calf standing beside his dead mother, and a later sequence during which a baby elephant is briefly missing, there's no suspense or violence. Lots of information is presented about rescue, recovery, and the preparation necessary for the animals' return to the wild. Characters consume alcohol. Wholesome and enlightening, the movie is fine for older kids and up. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (4)
• Kids say (2)

Based on 4 parent reviews

Dull film but might attract some viewers.

Uninspiring = waste of time, what's the story.

After Kate's ( Kristin Davis ) longtime husband announces that he's leaving her in HOLIDAY IN THE WILD, the shattered woman uncharacteristically decides to go on a planned second honeymoon by herself. Their son, Luke (John Owen Lowe), is on his way to college, so her nest is truly empty. Summoning her courage, and hoping to recover from the rejection, Kate journeys to Africa, where a luxury resort and safari have been booked. Unexpectedly, however, the two-seater plane on its way to the facility makes an unforeseen stop. Derek ( Rob Lowe ), the pilot, has seen something from the air and landed. They discover an elephant calf standing beside his mother, who has been killed by poachers. Kate, a veterinarian once upon a time, stays with Derek to help transport the traumatized baby to an elephant orphanage. Immediately bonding with the calf she names Manu, and intrigued by the activism at the shelter, Kate decides to stay and help. It isn't long before both Kate's recovery and Manu's recovery go hand in hand.

Is It Any Good?

The remarkable images of elephants living in the unique beauty of Africa, along with the inspiring story of their human protectors, counter a routine story about self-discovery and falling in love. It's a sincere production, with amiable performances and efficient directing. The music is just right. The cinematography captures both the spirit and the specialness of the animals and the region. Holiday in the Wild is fine for kids who are willing to sit still for a little mushiness and emotional unrest. They should appreciate other aspects of the film.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the filmmaking team's intentions in making Holiday in the Wild . Does knowing that Kristin Davis is an activist who supports the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust: Haven for Elephants and Rhinos add insight into their intentions? Were you aware of the important issues this film addresses?

Talk about the music in Holiday in the Wild . It seems to have been carefully chosen. How did its authenticity contribute to the film's tone and enrich the setting?

Movies are cultural game-changers in some instances. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Explain your answer. What did you take away from this film? What other movies have inspired you to take action or informed your beliefs?

Movie Details

• On DVD or streaming : November 1, 2019
• Cast : Kristin Davis , Rob Lowe , Fezile Mpela
• Director : Ernie Barbarash
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Netflix
• Genre : Romance
• Topics : Activism , Adventures , Science and Nature , Wild Animals
• Run time : 85 minutes
• MPAA rating : NR
• Last updated : February 18, 2023

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What to watch next.

Under the Tuscan Sun

The Elephant Queen

The Ivory Game

Eat Pray Love

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December 07, 2021

The 12 Days of Netflix Christmas Movies: 'Holiday in the Wild'

In this "christmas movie," kristin davis goes all the way to africa where she falls in love — with elephants. oh, and rob lowe is there too..

Kristin Davis and Rob Lowe in Netflix's "Holiday in the Wild."

Welcome to the most wonderful time of the year. No, not the time of year when you gather with friends and family and everyone you love to celebrate making it through another year by exchanging expensive gifts and drinking way too much. We're talking about the time of year where it's actually socially acceptable to watch Christmas movies.

Outside of the mainstream theatrical holiday films, there have also been the made-for-TV masterpieces, most notably the Hallmark Channel Christmas movies (and to a lesser extent Lifetime Christmas movies). Those are... much less reliable and often fall into the genre of the kind of movies you'd typically expect to find on those channels. 

The 12 Days of Netflix Christmas Movies: 'The Knight Before Christmas'  | 'The Holiday Calendar'  | 'Love Hard'  | 'A Castle for Christmas'  | 'Holidate'  | 'Father Christmas is Back'  | 'The Princess Switch'  | 'Klaus'  | 'The Christmas Chronicles'  | 'A Christmas Prince'  | 'A Boy Called Christmas'

But in the last three of four years, a new genre of Christmas movie has been created: The Netflix Christmas Movie™️ (or NCM for short). And just like with their regular content, they've been churning out NCMs at a breakneck pace. Sure, there are plenty of those craptastic Hallmark- and Lifetime-type movies also available on Netflix, but the streaming giant already has multiple trilogies of their own, plus others that have sequels and spin-offs and even some existing in the same cinematic universe, the Netflix Christmas Universe, one that will conceivably continue to expand until we reach the singularity when all of the known universe is consumed by either the Netflix or Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

But for this exercise, we're going to stick to Netflix originals.  And we're going to review them. Not all of them, but 12 of them (technically more since we'll be grouping the trilogies together) over the next few weeks as we present to you the 12 Days of Netflix Christmas Movies. So sit back, grab a cup of hot chocolate (or spiked eggnog if you prefer) and let's get started... 

[NOTE: All of what follows comes with the disclaimer that I'm full aware I'm reviewing Netflix Christmas movies and not Academy Award contenders, so when I say something is "a good movie" it's all relative. And as a warning, while some of these movies may be family friendly, others are not. As such, these reviews might be a little NSFW at times, and may also contains some spoilers but, come on, it's a Netflix Christmas movie.]

HOLIDAY IN THE WILD (2019)

Tweet-length review:  Do you want to watch a Christmas movie or a sexy PSA about wildlife conservation and the diminishing elephant population in Africa? Because you're definitely getting one of those... 

You might recognize:  Kristin Davis ("Sex and the City"); Rob Lowe ("The West Wing," "Parks and Recreation")

The plot: A rich guy leaves his wife Kate (Davis) the same day their son leaves for college (damn, that's cold), and with nothing else going on in her life she decides to still go on a previously booked second honeymoon to Africa without her soon-to-be-ex husband. While there, she falls in love with elephants  and reignites her passion for being a veterinarian. Ultimately, she decides to stay in Africa for a few months to care for the elephant she helped rescue, and finds out that the animals aren't the only thing she's falling in love with. There's also a pilot who looks like Rob Lowe, which is pretty lucky for a soon-to-be-single mom from New York.

What makes it terrible:   As we've already established, there are a ton of NCMs that I could've chosen from — and in fact, by limiting this to 12 movies I won't get anywhere close to review all of the Netflix originals — so there was no reason I had to review this movie. I wanted to review it. It was actually one of the reasons this entire exercise started in the first place. When I saw movies like this and "Operation Christmas Drop" (which we'll be reviewing eventually) pop up on Netflix, I knew they were going down the Hallmark/Lifetime route, just with much, much bigger budgets. I was finally going to get the answer of whether it's the terrible plot, writing, directing, etc. that makes those movies so bad they're good, or if it's the no-name actors (with an occasional B-lister thrown in) that really made it hum.

Turns out, it's a combination of both. Because this movie was terrible, but not to the point of swinging the pendulum all the way back to it being good. Davis and Lowe are no Meryl Streep and Daniel Day-Lewis, but they're well-known actors, so the bar is instantly set higher than it probably should be, not unlike it was for the Brooke Shields/Cary Elwes pairing in "A Castle for Christmas." By putting big-name actors in these otherwise low-budget holiday movies — it appears all that Netflix money went to landing the two lead actors — they're kind of setting themselves up for failure when the movie inevitably doesn't live up to expectations.

That being said, we've learned not to bring too many expectations to the table (or couch, in this case) when sitting down to review one of these NCMs. And as it turned out, this barely qualified as that — which we've seen several times so far on our journey to the center of the NCMU. Sometimes, Netflix just decides to set a movie at Christmas time, throw in a few references to Christmas, maybe a party and a few carols, and call it a day. But for the most part, the timing is the most Christmas-y things about them. That was certainly the case in this one (at least the second half of it). In fact, it was more of  a 90-minute look at elephant conservation in Africa covered in the glitter that is a pair of attractive actors. Which was totally fine — and a somewhat welcome break from some of our past reviews . 

We could knock this movie for a plot that never really makes sense — are we supposed to be worried about the poachers or the nameless foundation (represented by a South African woman with the longest name ever) as the biggest threat to the security of your elephant sanctuary? They make several references to poachers, and it almost feels like they're setting you up for one of their elephants to be killed, but it turns out it's Rob Lowe's sexuality and the fact that he no longer wants to sleep with the woman from the foundation, Ms. Leslie Van De Mere-Jones, that poses the biggest threat. Seriously, has little Rob Lowe been singlehandedly keeping this sanctuary afloat? 

Or we could knock it for one of the cheesiest lines we've come across in any of these Christmas movies.

"In Africa, did you meet someone?" Kate's soon-to-be-ex-husband asks upon her return. "I did," she replies. "I met me."

Or we could knock this for, say, the fact that Davis' character just happens to be a veterinarian (albeit one that hasn't practiced in years). Or the fact that for most of the movie she doesn't seem very interested in Rob [bleeping] Lowe. Or for the fact that the first half of a "holiday" movie takes place in August/September before randomly jumping ahead three months for a couple scenes that take place around Christmas. Or we could knock if for the fact that after Christmas, Davis' character just up and leaves Africa for no apparent reason, even though she clearly still wants to be there and has nothing in particular waiting for her at home, other than a huge empty apartment. 

But we digress. Instead, we'll just say that this is an overall bad movie (and not a Christmas movie) that even one of the most likeable actors in Hollywood couldn't save. 

What makes it good: After reading that, you're probably asking, is there anything worth liking? And in fact, there is. Starting with the length, an hour and 26 minutes. We've knocked a few recent flicks for moving too slowly or being about 20 minutes too long. That was not the case here, as the pace of the movie actually moved pretty quickly, which along with the fact that I'm getting write this review is probably the only reason I made it all the way to the end. (It probably won't surprise you to hear that it's quite predictable.)

I also liked the fact that they went out of their way early on to show you that Kate really doesn't have much going on in her life now since she doesn't work and her only child (played by Lowe's real-life son) is leaving for college. Otherwise, I would've spent half of this review wondering how she didn't have anything better to do with her time than chill with elephants in Africa. (Don't get me wrong, what she was doing was incredibly noble, I would've just been wondering how she could afford to be there for all that time.)

And that brings us to the best part of this movie. All the damn adorable elephants. And I know it sounded like I was knocking this movie by saying that it's a 90-minute PSA for elephant conservation — there's even a message at the end to the viewer before the end credits about the diminishing elephant population and urging them to donate — but I actually appreciated that aspect of it. 

Finally, I didn't hate the soundtrack, even if it wasn't super Christmas-y (although there was a dope rendition of "Silent Night" by Ladysmith Black Mambazo). The only thing really missing was some Toto. Or perhaps this mashup of "Africa" and "The 12 Days of Christmas."

Rating:  On a scale from a partridge in a pear tree to twelve drummers drumming, I give this three French hens.

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Kristin Davis’s Netflix Movie Holiday in the Wild Was Four Years in the Making

Kristin Davis's new Netflix movie, Holiday in the Wild, premiered over the weekend, and I'm happy to report it's completely delightful. It centers on a woman, Kate, whose husband leaves her right before their second honeymoon to Zambia. So she goes on the trip alone, meets a sexy pilot named Derek ( Rob Lowe ), and the two spend the next 90 minutes saving elephants and flirting. Spoiler warning: They don't kiss or get together until the very end of the movie, though. In fact, you spend most of Holiday in the Wild marveling at the scenic locations and swooning over baby elephants. And it doesn't even really become a holiday movie until the second half, when Kate's son surprise-visits her in Zambia for Christmas, and a chain of romantic drama with Derek follows.

I don't want to give too much away, of course. You'll have to watch Holiday in the Wild yourself to find out what exactly goes down. But just know this: It's a fun, breezy good time, and the central cause, elephant conservation, is near and dear to Davis's heart. (The actor has done her fair share of philanthropic work for elephants over the years). Below, we chatted with Davis about conservation and what she hopes viewers take away from Holiday in the Wild.

Glamour: How did this movie come to you?

Kristin Davis: The producers and the writers came to me and said they wanted to do something different than the regular Christmas movie. They'd been following my social media and seen all my postings about my elephant work, and they started asking questions. One thing led to another, and four years later here we are with this movie.

So this has been in the works for a while, then?

It has, because this film was very hard to produce in the most proper, ethical way. It was really important to me, since we were making a movie about conservation, that we pay homage to the people who are doing this every day and putting their lives on the line to protect elephants and rhinos and all the other animals that are risk, and also that we not just use traditionally trained elephants in the way the entertainment industry does. So we had to find places that were actually rescuing elephants and that would allow us to film there.

Kristin Davis in Holiday in the Wild

What do you think makes Holiday in the Wild stand out from all the other holiday movies coming out this year?

The fact that it's shot in Africa, number one. Even if we leave out the animal part, it's just in a different setting. It's more of a travel-adventure movie, in a way; it just happens to be a Christmas movie, but we're having Christmas in a different place—which is nice. It makes you think about your own Christmas traditions, and then you look at other people's Christmas traditions and think about them in a new way. Rob [Lowe] brings so much wry humor, which I don't think you always get in a Christmas movie.

It does feel like the holiday movie genre is having a bit of a renaissance. Why do you think it's so popular?

I think people are very stressed. The world is a stressful place, and the holidays are a time when, hopefully, we get a little break from that stress. People want entertainment that gives them a good feeling. It's a nice break. People want to be together; they want to watch things they can watch with the whole family. It's a time that's become more important because of the continual 24-hour news cycle and all the things going on in the world. All the difficulties.

Would you be open to doing another holiday movie?

Of course! Holiday in the Wild sets the bar pretty high. I think now I'm just going to have to only do holiday movies with animals!

Like a sequel?

A sequel would be amazing. I don't know exactly what we would do or what would happen. For me, shooting in South Africa and Zambia and being able to be around elephants, which is one of my big loves of my life, and getting to write a love letter in the script to the people who take care of them, it really is a dream come true. I never really actually thought the film would get made, so it would be hard to live up to this one.

What did you most relate to with your character, Kate? She sends her son off to college and within seconds her husband leaves her. She goes through a lot just in the first 10 minutes of this movie.

I responded to her having her eyes open on this trip she ends up taking by herself to a whole other world and a whole other way people are living and to this crisis of elephant poaching that she had no idea about. I responded to that because that's very much like my own life.

Rob Lowe and Kristin Davis in Holiday in the Wild

When it comes to your own holiday pop-culture consumption, what are you looking for?

I'm looking for something that I can watch with my daughter [Gemma Rose]. She loves Christmas, and when you have kids, it's all about their enjoyment.

How do you think Charlotte York from Sex and the City would take to Kate's situation in Holiday in the Wild ?

I think she would be exactly like me! If for some horrible reason Harry left her—which I don't think he would—and she was going on a single trip to Zambia and found an orphan elephant, I think she'd respond exactly the way that Kate does or that I did.

Holiday in the Wild is now streaming on Netflix .

Christopher Rosa is the staff entertainment writer at Glamour. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrosa92 .

Holiday in the Wild (2019)

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Jilted by her husband on the eve of embarking on an African safari, a woman travels to the continent solo and meets an elephant conservationist.

Holiday in the Wild

Netflix's 'Holiday in the Wild': Christmas rom-com's elephant in the room is the lack of chemistry between Rob Lowe and Kristin Davis

Spoilers ahead for ‘Holiday in the Wild’

‘Holiday in the Wild’ doesn’t promise to be a great cinematic experience to begin with. Holiday movies are usually a schmaltzy affair with a lot of gooey moments and manufactured wholesomeness.

Romantic comedies, too, promise the same. So you can imagine how sickeningly sweet a combination of the two may just be. ‘Holiday in the Wild’, however, manages to not live up to these meager standards.

It’s the same old story we’ve seen and read a thousand times. Kate Conrad (Kristin Davis) is a rich lady, fresh out of an unhappy marriage. Kate feels unfulfilled with her life, having given up on her career as a vet.

But with her marriage too gone for a toss, Kate decides to go to Africa, on what was supposed to be a second honeymoon for her and her husband, alone. There she meets a ruggedly handsome pilot named Derek Holliston (Rob Lowe). 

Initially, Derek annoys Kate. But on the way to a wildlife resort in Zambia, Derek stops to take a “detour”. This detour proves to be a deus ex machina for Kate. They save a baby elephant whose mother was killed by poachers.

They take the calf to a reserve where her motherly instincts get the better of her. As she nurses little Manu back to health, she realizes this is what she wants to do. And so, her two-week-long trip turns into three months. 

In between all of this, she and Derek kiss once but things get complicated when Derek’s “friend” walks in on them. Kate decides to not pursue him and all is well. A little too well. 

For a romantic comedy to work, there has to be an obvious attraction between the two leads. In ‘Holiday in the Wild’, however, Davis and Lowe may as well be cousins. In a beautiful savannah with wild animals on the prowl, the elephant-sized hole in the story is the conspicuous lack of chemistry between Kate and Derek.

They spend months on the reserve not displaying any kind of feelings for each other. Even when Kate is leaving and Derek says he would miss her, it sounds more like a social nicety rather than any kind of genuine emotion.  Yet, after she leaves, Derek renames his plane “Kate” -- It used to be “Kirk”, named after Captain Kirk of ‘Star Trek’. This is a callback to a scene where Derek explains to Kate how planes are usually named after women the pilots love.

The only question one is left asking is: When in the name of God did Derek fall in love with Kate? It is also a little disconcerting to see Rob Lowe playing a brooding and reserved man after one has seen him play Chris Treeger, the personification of the word “enthusiastic” on ‘Parks and Recreation’. But deal with it, one must.

Even though Kate finds purpose and becomes a vet again, and even raises money for the reserve and comes back to live there permanently, one has a nagging feeling it had more to do with elephants than Derek.

But hey, it’s a holiday rom-com. Why poke more holes in a story that is the film equivalent of swiss cheese? ‘Holiday in the Wild’ is only worth a watch if you like elephants and even then, it fares no better than a cold dinner on Christmas Eve. 

'Holiday in the Wild' is available for streaming on Netflix.

Home » Movies » Movie Reviews

Holiday In The Wild Review: Basically A Rom-Com TV Movie

Netflix film Holiday In The Wild  is a soppy, robotic TV romance movie that would have been best served on Hallmark, which I am sure the romantics will like.

Netflix film Holiday In The Wild  starts worryingly choppy, introducing us to Kate ( Kristin Davis ) forcing family photos on her husband and her son, who looks weirdly too old to be a college student. The sound feels a little off, the acting feels out of place and I was wondering if I was going to survive the first act. Kate’s world turns upside down when her husband casually divorces her on the spot, with the couple both acting like they haven’t spent a lifetime together raising a child. The opening scenes are incredulously robotic, with the cast acting like they’ve just met each other and there wasn’t time for auditions.

Eventually, the story turns into a half-suggestive romance, whereby Kate ends up going to her “second honeymoon” by visiting an African safari where she meets an elephant conservationist, played by Rob Lowe , who I am convinced is trying extremely hard to be Brad Pitt’s doppelganger — it may be Pitt’s Oscar year after all. May as well grab the limelight while he can.

Holiday In The Wild  is astoundingly cheesy — it’s melted cheese on melted cheese — and at one point I felt like it was going to bubble and creep all over my body, like some bad horror movie, drowning me in that nastiness they serve with nachos in the cinema. Even the story arc that leads to Kate becoming highly interested in the elephant sanctuary is cheesy — throwing her entire life for the love of elephants, with on-the-surface enthusiasm to keep the audience convinced that the story well and truly bought by the production crew. At one point, Rob Lowe’s character Derek tries to make a salient point about how humans are the most dangerous influence to nature — but it was a well-timed, cringy answer.

Underlying Kate’s dedication to elephants is a romance somewhere, with the chemistry nowhere to be seen but the story tells us that Kate and Derek like each other. Holiday In The Wild  has all the ingredients for a Hallmark TV movie , but this time it was Netflix’s turn to take the bottom of the barrel and bid for the work. Holiday In The Wild  is a dud, but I’m sure romantics out there will enjoy this Netflix film with a glass of wine and a “share bag” of chocolates, which no-one ever shares.

Article by Daniel Hart

Daniel is the co-founder of Ready Steady Cut and has served as Editor-in-Chief since 2017. Since then, Dan has been at the top of his game by ensuring that we only produce and upload content of exceptional quality and that we’re up to date with the latest additions to the streaming and entertainment world.

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Holiday in the Wild Parent Guide

It's refreshing to see a christmas movie set in africa instead of the usual snowy, over-decorated small town..

Netflix: When her husband leaves, Kate decides to take their African safari holiday alone. In Africa, she meets people and elephants who change her life.

Release date November 1, 2019

Run Time: 85 minutes

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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by kirsten hawkes.

Sending your only child off to university is a bittersweet moment – pride and excitement mixed with a sense of loss and apprehension. When Kate (Kristin Davis) says goodbye to her college-bound son, Luke (John Owen Lowe), she squares her shoulders and resolves to make the best of it. Maybe she’ll resume her career as a veterinarian or add some zing to her marriage. With that in mind, she buys tickets for a surprise African safari getaway. Sadly, the only surprise comes from her husband, who informs her that he no longer loves her and is moving out.

With a paid for holiday in front of her, and a new life to figure out, Kate makes the obvious choice – she takes the holiday solo. In Africa, she comes across an abrasive bush pilot (Rob Lowe), an orphaned elephant, and an elephant rescue sanctuary – all of which help her find a new sense of purpose.

I have to admit to a love-hate relationship with rom-coms. I love the assurance of a happily-ever-after. After a stressful week, it can be a treat to settle down with a movie that won’t add to the intensity of real life. But I often struggle with production quality – lazy writing, absurdly big plot holes, and clueless characters. Holiday in the Wild, fortunately, falls on the better end of the Christmas rom-com scale. Its big pluses start with its setting. It’s wonderful to see a Christmas movie set in Africa instead of the usual faux-Victorian or New England town with evergreen trees, heavily be-ribboned wreaths, and enough tinsel to circle the globe. The movie also ties into a critical issue about elephant conservation which gives it more heft than the usual fluffy story.

Mature viewers will share my enthusiasm for a romantic story featuring a woman over forty. It can get tedious for those of us in our middle years to view a constant parade of youthful heroines with taut skin and even tighter abs. Kate has earned her wrinkles, and the filmmaker isn’t afraid to show them. Holiday in the Wild reminds us that none of us get through life without challenges – but those battle scars don’t preclude future happiness.

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Holiday in the Wild Rating & Content Info

Why is Holiday in the Wild rated TV-PG? Holiday in the Wild is rated TV-PG by the MPAA

Violence:   There is mention of animal poaching. A baby elephant is seen next to its dead mother. Sexual Content: There is occasionally kissing between a man and woman. There is oblique mention of a sexual relationship between an unmarried couple. Profanity:   None noted. Alcohol / Drug Use: Characters drink alcohol in social settings. A main character gets mildly intoxicated.

Page last updated December 16, 2020

Holiday in the Wild Parents' Guide

What helps Kate find a new sense of direction for her life? What is really important to you? Why does it matter?

Elephant conservation is a critically important issue as poachers and habitat destruction reduce the numbers of these amazing animals. For more information about saving elephants, check the following links:

Elephants Without Borders

African Wildlife Foundation

World Wildlife Fund

Elephant Voices

Related home video titles:

If you can’t get enough of elephants, you can follow these majestic creatures in Elephant , a documentary made by Disneynature.

Animals often play a part in human love stories but dogs are more common than elephants! Some of these movies include Dog Days , Marley & Me , and the doubleheader, A Dog’s Purpose and A Dog’s Journey.

If seasonal romances are what you’re looking for, there are plenty of new options this year. Midnight at the Magnolia sees two good friends pretending to be an item – and you know how that’s going to turn out. In Operation Christmas Drop , a congressional aide travels to Guam to investigate a charitable program which drops gifts on remote Pacific islands. A physician reluctantly cares for an injured royal who rejected her years ago in Christmas with a Prince .

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‘The Wild Robot’ Review: A Gorgeous Animated Fairy Tale About the Possibility of True Connection

Kate erbland, editorial director.

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Such is the starting point of Chris Sanders’ gorgeously rendered — both in style and tone — “The Wild Robot,” which the filmmaker himself adapted from Peter Brown’s bestselling novel of the same name (spoiler alert: the books are a trilogy, and here’s hoping we get more films to match them). Crafted in a painterly 2D style, the world of “ The Wild Robot ” is instantly immersive, even as it takes a while for the plucky Roz (as she will eventually come to be known) to settle in. The animals are not exactly welcoming to Roz, early evidence of the film ‘s occasionally darker elements (this is, after all, an ostensibly kid-friendly feature that features an early and awesome joke about baby possum death).

But Roz is nothing if she’s not patient — being not made of flesh and blood sure makes that easier — and so she plops down in the middle of her temporary new forest home and sets about learning the languages and lives of all the creatures around her. Sure, she’s got a censor on her head she should really activate so that she can be picked up by the clearly nefarious Universal Dynamics, but she’s also inherently curious, and there’s so much around her to learn. Once she’s fully booted up, she’s still not welcome (“monster!,” they scream at her, though the Catherine O’Hara-voiced possum Pigtail takes a shine to her, and the wily fox Fink, beautifully voiced by Pedro Pascal, is certainly interested in this other outsider).

And, yes, of course, he will teach her how to love, how to even be human. As rote and cheesy as that might sound, the lessons that accompany this change in Roz (and Brightbill and Fink and the rest of the forest crew) are classic ones, necessary ones, and they come to charming life in Sanders’ truly lovely film. As the trio approach their tasks, they form deep connections that translate to emotional, vivid storytelling, with tears and laughs to spare.

While Sanders’ script feels a bit awkwardly paced around the midway mark — what the heck is going to happen once we tick off those three essential lessons for Brightbill? — it eventually allows the film and its many stars to push into some unexpected angles. The result is all the good, big words we want to hear about cinema aimed at our youngest audience members: it’s heartening and true and a little sad and incredibly inspiring with a big, ol’ message about the power of community and coming together in the face of major adversity. That it looks so gorgeous and homespun adds to its appeal, a warm little gem of a film that’s both a throwback and a push forward. Too early to ask for two more?

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