Im Reich der Raubkatzen

We often think of African wildlife documentaries as being dry, reiterated, or just clips of either cute baby animals or slow motion shots of the predator striking at it's prey. All under the dry narration of Sir David Attenborough or someone trying to sound like him. This is different.

The theme of "African Cats" is one of a mother's love, the setting is on a stretch of Kenya divided by a great river where on one side we are shown a lioness and her cubs as members of the ruling pride, on the other a mother cheetah and her cubs as she attempts to raise her young as a single mother. Each situation has it's benefits and it's disadvantages.

All of this wonderful story telling occurs amidst the beautiful scenery of Africa and all under the perfect narration of Samuel L. Jackson whose voice matches the inflection and emotion of every scene reminiscent of the work of the late John Facenda of NFL Films.

The movie does not try to out-do its predecessors and be more than it is, it stays to it's story and it's themes and makes for a wonderful film for anyone. From the kid who loves animals, to the casual film goer who enjoys a good story. 6 out of 10, check it out.

Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey bring a charming little documentary set in the Kenyan Savannah. The film has been edited tightly to tell a coherent story and add a more dramatic feel. What sets it apart from watching a documentary on Animal Planet or Discovery Channel is that the viewer does not get the feel that he/she is watching a documentary. It feels like watching a feature film where the lionesses and the cheetahs are the protagonists. It is beautifully shot with stunning cinematography and a brilliant soundtrack with the exception of the Jordinn Sparks track that takes place during the closing credits. But watch the closing credits as it's hilarious seeing how the animals have been credited. Samuel L. Jackson's husky voice excellently narrates the story. It centers around Sita the cheetah and her cubs and Laila the lioness and her daughter Mara. And the presentation of the 'characters' are very well done as the viewer can easily relate to them and root for them. The elements of adventure, suspense and even comedy are brilliantly balanced in this wildlife tale. Given that the title is 'African Cats', I missed seeing the leopard. But anyway, 'African Cats' is overall refreshing, entertaining and heartwarming and a nice reminder of why some of us love animals.

This was (in my humble opinion), one of the better "wildlife movies" I have seen. Sure, there were not too many scenes of carnage but neither was the footage sanitized to that with what we are traditionally used to with Disney. A pretty good narration by Jackson and brilliant cinematography results in a rather good portrayal of life and death in central Africa.

If there is a little anthropomorphism so what? The overall cinematography was a great compliment to the music and I would think anyone leaving the theatre would admit to almost smelling the Masai Mara in all of its majesty. John P Nightingale

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.

Love Disney and while some of their nature documentaries are better than others, their DisneyNature documentaries are worth a look at least. 'African Cats' intrigued me straightaway, being somebody that has always been fascinated by how lions and other big cats are depicted in documentaries and who loves documentaries. It was interesting to see a different approach to stories about lions after being very affected watching 2011's 'The Last Lions' a week ago.

'African Cats' is on the most part a winner for Disney and DisneyNature. As far as their documentaries go, it is towards being one of their better ones due to the visuals and how investable the storytelling was. For anybody that doesn't like animals humanised too much, more focus on family drama and likes subtle narration, they may want to look elsewhere. But for a documentary film that makes any story of any big cat accessible for the whole family, judging without any comparison and on what it is aiming to do and the target audience, 'African Cats' more than fits the bill.

Do agree that sometimes the narration does tend to over-explain, the film would have benefitted more from more show and less tell, and while Samuel L Jackson actually does fine on delivering it there is a try too hard feel to some of his delivery.

However, there is so much to recommend with 'African Cats'. When it comes to DisneyNature documentaries, 'African Cats' has to be up there with the best looking. At its very best, the photography is just jaw-dropping in its beauty. The scenery is both stunningly beautiful and suitably unforgiving. The music is both stirring and poignant-sounding, and it didn't come over as intrusive or trying to be too cinematic.

While the narration was not perfect in writing or delivery, it at least for me entertained and interested me (even if there are many documentaries that are a good deal more illuminating in information) and Jackson clearly puts a lot of passion in his delivery. There is more of a dramatic story of the situations the lions and cheetahs have to undergo than there is documentary, but that didn't matter to me because the storytelling was genuinely moving and heart-warming without being manipulative or over-dramatised. While the approach is not the pull no punches one that 'The Last Lions' had, it doesn't get too over-cute.

It helps too that the lions and cheetahs look wonderful and are so identifiable in very human situations. The interactions are immensely charming with some appropriate tension.

Concluding, very well done. 8/10