Delhi Safari is a 2012 computer animated film directed by Nikhil Advani and produced by Krayon Pictures. Although the film's origin is India, the film was dubbed in English shortly after its release date and appeared in American theaters in early December of the same year.
Somewhere in the jungles of India, a leopard cub named Yuvi is busy bonding with his father when construction vehicles and workers roam into the area for deforestation. Although Yuvi manages to get away, the cub's father is killed, and he (as well as the other animals) come to the conclusion that they need to relocate before the humans kill anyone else. After much arguing, and realizing that the humans can easily kill them all if they go to war, the animals decide to talk to the humans in order to make them change their minds about destroying their home. With the help of an English-speaking parrot named Alex, Yuvi, his mother, and a ragtag group of other animals venture across India towards Delhi, in hopes that they can convince the humans to reconsider the deforestation.
While the film isn't very popular in America, Delhi Safari has much critical acclaim in India. The film won the National Film Award for Best Animated Film in 2012, as well as the award for Best Feature Film at FICCI FRAMES 2012.
Tropes:
- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: All over the place.
- Bagga the bear wears a safari hat.
- Bajrangi wears a red bandana on his forehead and has a stud earring on his right ear.
- An owl can be scene in the jungle wearing eyeglasses.
- Pigeon wears a mailman hat.
- Raju the bat wears sunglasses.
- The bees wear tiny pilot helmets.
- Some of the flamingos wear turbans.
- Ass Shove: At one point, Bajrangi tries to wake up an old turtle by shoving his head into his shell. Unfortunately for him, the turtle’s head comes out at the opposite end.
- Beary Friendly: Bagga the bear qualifies. He acts as a guru for Bajrangi and believes that humans can be appealed to peacefully.
- Blood Knight: Bajrangi really wants to go to war with humans.
- Bloodless Carnage: Even though Sultan is shown getting shot by a human, there is absolutely no blood present when he falls and dies.
- Character Development: All five main characters manage to grow throughout the trip to Delhi in various different ways.
- Deadpan Snarker: Alex. He can barely go a few sentences without speaking sarcastically to Bajrangi.
- Death by Origin Story: Sultan. His death is largely what causes Yuvi and the other animals to seek help against the deforestation.
- Decoy Protagonist: There's a reason why Sultan isn't even on the cover poster for this movie...
- A Dog Named "Dog": Pigeon is a pigeon.
- Establishing Character Moment:
- The hot-headed Bajrangi is first seen calling all the other animals cowards for wanting to leave their home after the humans kill Sultan, while he wants to resort to violence, as opposed to talking to them peacefully.
- Alex is first seen lip-syncing to a song on television while he dances around in an oversized, comfortable house to let the viewers know just how pampered humans have made him.
- Fat and Skinny: Marela and Bharela are Bajrangi’s lackeys. One is pudgy, the other is as skinny as a nail.
- Groin Attack: When Bajrangi visualizes what will happen if Bagga hears him kill Alex, he imagines a scenario where Bagga grabs him by the throat and uses his other paw to crush his nether regions.
- Hammerspace: Somehow, Bajrangi is capable of carrying well over two dozen weapons with him, despite being naked.
- Heinous Hyena: Kaalia and his pack act as minor antagonists on the journey to Delhi.
- Informed Species: Bagga is supposedly a sloth bear, but looks absolutely nothing like one, more like a brown bear.
- Irony: Although Bajrangi hates humans with a passion, he actually uses a lot of human weapons such as guns and knives. This may be his attempt at fighting fire with fire though.
- Jerkass: Bajrangi and Alex. They both get better.
- Mama Bear: Go on. Try to mess with Yuvi without Beggum tearing you to shreds afterwards.
- Misplaced Wildlife: A pack of spotted hyenas appear in the movie, even though they are only native to Africa, not India.
- Mood Whiplash: After Alex and Bajrangi spend some time bonding and drinking too much coconut milk, Bajrangi walks off to get some water and is terrified to see a bunch of tiger skeletons in the area with a very disturbed tiger sitting across from him.
- Nobody Poops: Averted when Bajrangi takes a pee break after the protagonists take a brief rest at night on their way to Delhi.
- Scary Stinging Swarm: Bajrangi accidentally breaks a hornet's nest with a large rock near the end of the film. Cue hundreds of hornets chasing after the protagonists...
- Shout-Out: Pigeon mentions that Alex can speak various languages, including Klingon.
- Tell Him I'm Not Speaking to Him: After the group learns Bajrangi intentionally try to have Alex get eaten by hyenas despite how important he is to their mission, Beggum tells Bagga to tell Bajrangi that he is no longer a part of their group.
- Those Two Guys: Bharela and Marela, the two primates who are never seen away from each other.
- Took a Level in Kindness:
- Bajrangi. He started out as a hot-headed Jerkass who only listened to himself, but he finally understood that violence would solve nothing and that he needed to become nicer.
- Alex. Started off as a pompous, sarcastic bird who preferred his pampered life. Eventually realized that he needed to help the other animals and convince the humans that what they were doing was hurting the environment.
- Violence Really Is the Answer: Discussed shortly after Sultan dies, where Bajrangi seriously considers going to war with the humans. Ultimately subverted in the end, where the protagonists solve the crisis by merely talking to the humans, because they know that violence will only lead to an endless circle of more violence.
- Wasn't That Fun?: After jumping into the water to avoid the bees during the mine cart chase, Bagga jokingly suggests going on the cart ride again. Begum doesn’t think what he said was funny.
