African Cats (2011)

One of my all time favorites.

Nice effects though.

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

2/28/18. With great cinematography this animal documentary follows the lives of two big cat families. An aging lion, Fang, eventually must face up to Kali and his 4 sons (ok, it's no contest), and Sita, a female cheetah with 5 cubs must bravely survive the dangers of the jungle. Great movie, and worth catching with kids of all ages!

I'm not a Disneyphobe (nor am I a Disneyphile) but this needed its very fine cinematography to lift its rating and keep me watching. Undoubtedly, the script and narration will go down well with followers of the genre, as will the genteel treatment of the cruel realities of life and death in the wild, such as an absence of gore. This is not a criticism, just an observation. It is Disney, after all, and that's all. As a many-times observer in the flesh of real-life African wildlife action, I was glued to this only by its visuals. Apart from the unreal lack of blood, they were among the best I've seen in documentaries depicting the lives of big cats, and it was a relief not to have a narrator putting his face in front of the camera at every opportunity. Oh, and I have no problem with anthropomorphic descriptions of wild animals. I've seen big cats in the wild showing the same basic emotions as humans...affection between relatives and allies, anger and fear towards enemies, and so on: a lioness staring with what can only be described as great anger; fear in a lion's face before it turned and fled from humans on foot it had detected in the distance; pain in the eyes of an injured lion, beaten in a fight.

A documentary about African cats narrated by Samuell L. Jackson. While you might have expected Morgan Freeman to do another voice over job, Sam does a really good job narrating this "dramatized" version of things that happen. Of course you could argue, if the filmmakers could (and should) have interfered at some points of the story. I guess this will be subject of a featurette or two on the DVD/Blu Ray of this film. You shouldn't have those thoughts watching this though.The "characters" get introduced pretty neatly and the "story" might end up in a place you didn't expect it to go. One thing is for sure: This will be a feast for the animal lovers (if you'll excuse the pun).

The cinema-photography in "African Cats" was wonderful and the close-up photography was amazing - BUT the narration and anthropomorphizing of the cheetah mother and her cubs and the Lion pride was terrible and very distracting. Just why the filmmakers would minimize their hard work and time spent photographing these beautify cat families on the Masai Mara of Kenya is beyond me - no doubt, Disney, the production company, thought a story line and narration of a leading star like Samuel L. Jackson would increase box office sales. The animals have names and the cat families are depicted having adventures which might appeal more to child viewers than adults. Disney's legendary 1994 animated smash "The Lion King" had more emotional wallop..."I wish I could recommend this film, at least for the live-action photography, but I can not. If you like images of Cheetahs and Lions - and other African cats - Leopards and the Serval cat - sadly missing from the film - I'd recommend you purchase a large coffee table book with good color photographs of the cats of East Africa. I learned today, October 15, 2011, that one of the male members of the cheetah coalition of three on the Masai Mara - shown as cubs in the movie, "African Cats"- ended up a casualty due to a run in with Lions . Very sad, although such is life in the wild . . .