RipDelight
This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.
ChanFamous
I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
Philippa
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
SnoopyStyle
Disney is going the docudrama route. Layla is the oldest lioness raising her cub Mara with Fang the leader of the River Pride. They are protected by the crocodile infested river from the pride to the north ruled by Kali and his four sons. Also Sita the cheetah is raising her five small cubs.Samuel L. Jackson is narrating the American version. Quite frankly, he's trying too hard to dramatize what is already very dramatic. The footage and the writing is plenty good enough. I miss the British voice narration which usually gives these nature documentaries the needed gravitas. The score is another problem. It's again overly dramatic. It keeps overshadowing what are very compelling animal stories.
suruchi-shukla
Despite the Disney tag, I went in expecting to see a documentary of the sort I enjoy watching on Eden and Nat Geo Wild. While the dramatic landscapes, changing seasons, and spectacular shots of cats of the Masai Mara come alive in this feature, the narration lets it down horrendously.I wonder if the feature has deliberately been positioned at a young audience - age group 2-6 (in fact we were the only 2 adults in the theater unaccompanied by kids). It was a pity to see that the older kids head straight for Avengers, and even some of the younger ones watching African Cats left midway with their parents. Perhaps the narration has deliberately been watered down and anthromorphized considerably in an attempt to appeal to this younger audience - however, it ends up trivializing (what should have been) the essence of the feature. The narration is scant on information and detail. We are not told the names of the geographic features (e.g. the river) for example. We are left to guess the different social habits and habitat of cats and other wildlife e.g. the great wildebeest migration. We aren't told hard-hitting facts such as cheetah cubs having a mortality rate of 70% in the first 6 months. The over-simplification is especially cringe-worthy in places - for e.g. "Lesson 3: don't mess with lions".I actually missed Sir David Attenborough-type narration.
Brent Trafton
I watch a lot of nature documentaries and the ones by BBC Nature have set the bar very high. "African Cats" by Disney Nature is the first film that has equaled or exceeded BBC Nature in quality.The picture quality is absolutely stunning! They must be using the highest quality cameras and lenses. The editing and music are all top quality. Some people might object to the dramatic narration by Samuel L. Jackson but I liked it.Of course the real stars here are the lions and cheetahs. The film does a really good job of showing how they interact with each other socially. While some people might accuse the film of being anthropomorphic, I felt it did an honest job of showing their social hierarchy.If you are a fan of nature documentaries, you can't miss "African Cats."
gradyharp
African CATS stirs the anxiety of the hunt, the awe of the creatures of wild, the warmth of feeling about motherhood in general, and the inspiration to discover more about the fauna of Africa. This is a beautifully filmed study of life in the Serengeti of Kenya. Though it is a documentary about the lives of animals who live on two sides of a river that rises and recedes with seasons, the fact that it is so carefully creative and narrated by Samuel L. Jackson makes it seem like a written story. It is successful on every level.The film documents the lives of two prides of lions (the cats are given names to enhance the story)- one on either side of the unnamed river: on the north side is an old lioness and her young cub Mara who belong to a pride of lions protected by the snaggletoothed Fang. On the south side is a proud lion father of four grown sons who wish to cross the river to gain new territory. The river is filled with dangerous crocodiles and makes their desire for conquering dangerous. The story also focuses on Sita, a cheetah mother of five cubs whose relationship with her innocently adorable brood makes for another aspect of the tale: the cubs must learn to run, fight, and survive the threats of hyenas before Sita can leave them to return to her solitary life. Though there are many light moments in the film the directors Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey are careful to include the reality of life in the wild. The cycle of life is well demonstrated in the aging of the older lions - the mother of Mara and Fang - and in the problems that face the cubs as they mature.The film includes many of the fascinating birds, the wildebeests, the gazelles, giraffes, and the many other creatures who populate this eco-clime. At films end the overwhelming sense is one of tenderness in response to the family instincts of animals in the wild. The degree of love and interaction between the cubs an their mothers is not only warmly inspiring, it also sends a message about good parenting to the humans watching the film! Grady Harp
