Napoléon et Samantha

This 1972 movie, "Napoleon and Samantha" is about a couple of orphaned kids who have a pet chicken and a pet lion from the circus. They meet up with Danny (Michael Douglas) who helps them out.

The acting and filming are OK, it's just a good little G-rated movie with no sex, cursing, or violence. What I found most interesting are seeing Michael Douglas in his 20s and Jodie Foster about 8 or 9 when the filming was done, and mentally comparing that to their mega-star status today.

Disney family offering that was(if I am correct)Jodie Foster's first feature film appearance. Plot concerns Napoleon(Johnny Whittaker)who flees to the hills with his pet lion Major and friend Samantha(Foster)after his grandfather dies, assisted by college-dropout-turned-shepherd Michael Douglas. The drama comes from Napoleon and Samantha encountering various dangers in the hills of the Rockies, including the expected wild animals and a run-in with a dangerous pedophile(euphemistically referred to as a "psycho" in the film). A little unusual, for the film's dealings with death(the only human death I can recall in a Disney live-action film)and the above-mentioned child molestor, and not a little moving.

This movie could use a reboot and a sequel more or less. Because it sometimes make me sad to see Napoleon's grandfather passed away during the movie, just wish there could have been a new love interest for Danny though.

And I love the way Major the Lion was very tameful and gentle as a house cat, it got me thinking about what would happen if there is going to be a reboot and a sequel included just to honor that movie. Because of Disney, I always wondered what it would be like to make good people's dream come true and do things differently for the sake of Walt Disney Animation Studios someday.

Napoleon gets into mischief with his friend Samantha (Jodie Foster). They steal empty bottles and resell them to the store owner for candy. He lives with his grandpa. Her parents are away and she lives with Gertrude. Napoleon and grandpa encounter Dimetri the Clown with Major the Lion. Dimetri is going home to Europe and has to leave Major behind. The lion is old with bad teeth and can only drink milk. Napoleon and grandpa adopt Major putting him in with the chickens. Grandpa passes away. Danny (Michael Douglas) is a student traveling through the area looking for work. Napoleon hires him to bury grandpa. Napoleon claims to be waiting for his uncle while Danny sets off for a goat herding job. Fearing the orphanage, Napoleon sets off with Major to find and stay with Danny. Samantha joins him with her prized rooster. When the kids get there, Danny goes back to tell Gertrude and she promptly has him arrested. At the police station, he sees that he left the kids with Mark Pierson who is actually a wanted criminal.

I checked this out for Jodie Foster and Michael Douglas. Damn, Jodie was just a kid and it's sad to read that she was mauled by one of the lions. The kids are cute and charming. There are a lot of darker elements in this kids movie. The locals are a little too much of bumpkins. The most compelling aspect is the two kids on the journey with the lion. That's a small part of the movie. It's an odd little Disney adventure.

Determined boy runs away from his rural community rather than risk being placed in an orphanage, taking along his pet lion and little girlfriend for a journey through rugged terrain. Family film from Disney with nature-adventure asides never really gets going--mostly due to that sleepy lion, ambling through the picture as if drugged. The kids (talented Johnny Whitaker from "Family Affair" and wise-talking Jodie Foster in her first film role) are both good, even though they occasionally struggle with their delivery. Michael Douglas has fine, if colorless, supporting role as a well-meaning hippie-type who comes to their rescue. Younger children might enjoy it. ** from ****