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The
fourth release from
Disneynature,
African Cats
has made its way to
DVD and Blu-ray and
I can honestly say
that this replaces
the first
Disneynature film,
Earth
as
my
favorite. The heart
wrenching true
stories of these
wild animals is
captivating and
enthralling to
watch. It’s got the
best flow of the
Disneynature movies
with a story
focused-in on a few
specific animals in
specific species and
not just a specific
species. The film is
hard to watch in
spots because it’s
so real (not your
typical Disney
trait) but it’s one
worth watching for
families. Kids
interested in nature
and animals will
love this movie,
just make sure
they’re not too
young to watch it.
African Cats
follows two
different wild cat
species, lions and
cheetahs. Inside of
two specific lion
prides there are
several animals that
we get to follow and
that interact with
each other. There’s
Fang, the giant
gnarled Lion on his
last legs as ruler
of his kingdom.
There’s Mara, the
young lion cub who
evolves from cub to
adolescent in front
of our eyes. There’s
Mara’s mother, a
lioness who’s the
oldest of the pack
who’s lived an
extremely tough
life. Then there’s
the lion kingdom
from across the
river that’s going
to attempt a
takeover of Fang’s
kingdom; Kali and
his four sons.
Seeing one big lion
on a huge screen in
perfect quality is
somewhat spooky
enough, seeing five
of them all together
is nothing short of
terrifying. We
follow the lions as
they interact with
each other. They
love, live, fight,
and yes even die. We
also follow Ciri, a
female Cheetah with
five babies. We
follow Ciri as she
takes on hyenas and
Kali and his pride.
Sadly, she doesn’t
get to raise all
five of her cubs,
I’ll warn parents of
that right now, but
she does save and
raise three
successfully.
The
drama in
African Cats
is unmatched with
any of the other
three Disneynature
films. You feel the
tension between the
‘characters’ and
you’re glued to the
screen at the
dramatic parts of
the film. The drama
here though is
incredibly real and
it’s going to be
hard to watch and
digest for a lot of
people. But that’s
nature and for
integrity’s sake the
filmmakers can’t
intervene with the
wild, only observe
and explain. It’s
rough to see on
screen, incredibly
rough and just
heartbreaking in
points, but it’s
also nature and
important to watch
and observe what’s
going on. The
documentary’s
character driven
style and gorgeous
video is the reason
to watch it. An
added bonus is the
narration done by
Samuel L. Jackson.
That pushes things
over the top to make
this a great film.
African Cats
on Blu-ray is great
for picture and
sound. If you’re
terrified by the
five male lions
altogether, Disney,
Blu-ray and your
high-def TV has done
its job. If you’re
not somewhat shook
by that image, then
you’re a bigger and
braver man than I.
The
same goes for all of
the sounds, the
sounds of the
African plain and
the ferocious
roaring is
crazy
ominous in spots. As
far as special
features, most of it
is just fluff stuff
and there’s not a
lot of it. But there
is a picture in
picture
annotation/filmmaker
information/trivia
mode to watch the
film with and that’s
cool although it’s a
bit hard to access.
African Cats
is a fantastic
Disneynature film.
Some parents and
people will find it
to be disturbing and
possibly a little
too real. But others
will find it to be
hard to watch but an
accurate
presentation.
Parents with young
children are warned
to wait a year or
two to watch this
one, but for older
kids and families
this is a great
capture of two of
nature’s most
amazing species.
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