"African Cats"-Teaching About Life in the Wild Without All the Pain

We have a review of the Disney documentary “African Cats”. Marvelous camera work but not for every 7 year old.

Pic of the Day

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”African Cats”
IMDB site for this movie


I was initially skeptical that this movie would be suitable for a 7-year old. Of course it was suitable in that in terms of graphic sex or violent content it was rated “G”. But a G-rating does not necessarily keep a 7-year-old mesmerized in her seat for an hour and a half.

Two things: first there were no other suitable movie alternatives that particular weekend and second, it was a Disney movie.

Understand that said 7-year-old child was also promised a trip to the local Play McDonald’s before Obamer kills off Ronald McDonald so my assertion that toward the end the child did get a tad restless is not to be blamed on the movie.

This same 7-year-old child, not to belabor the point, is normally an exceptionally well-behaved child thus adding all these factors together, were I the mother/grandmother of an especially rambunctious youngster under, say, aged ten, I’d think about waiting until this movie comes out in DVD before expecting active youngster muscles to sit through this thing quietly. Let them watch it in the comfort of their own living rooms where they can pause and pee as needed.

Which is my most diplomatic effort to praise this movie for its appeal to the younger of us but with caveats to pay attention to the child and circumstances that the “G” rating does not lull one into thinking this to be a captivating animated film especially designed for youngsters.



It is, however, a riveting film featuring amazing camera work that did keep my particular 7-year-old mostly quiet and focused for the movie’s duration. Myself enjoyed every second of the film but then I love animal type of documentaries so we’ll call it a draw for granddaughter Kaitlyn and myself between a cartoon and an adult romance made to mostly appeal to both of us.

The production company for this movie is DisneyNature. Disney does produce movies with the best camera work and this film is no different.
The movie follows the life of a lion, Fang, a lion cub, Mara, and a Cheetah, Sita, as they live their lives, fight their battles, yes, meet their death.

I was very happy that my granddaughter was able to witness, up front and personal, how God’s creatures too struggle to train and raise their young to survival, like humans. God’s creatures too struggle to survive, they are vanquished, they perish.

The whole thing is treated quite delicately. There are no bloody scenes, no long minutes of watching death, no humiliating vignettes of defeat and banishment. Yet it all happens in the movie, as it must, as would be expected from a real movie about nature realistically depicted.

Sita struggles to raise her cheetah cubs. They start in the movie as adorable cheetah kittens and throughout the viewer sees them grow strong, tall and able, nurtured by the dedication of their mother and trained to survive on their own as required. Sita did lose two of her five cubs, a sad thing again, handled delicately so as not to needlessly bring pain to young hearts.


Mira is a lion cub raised by her weakening and dying mother. Mira’s mother too struggles to raise her daughter to live and grow strong. When Mira loses her mother she is driven out of the lion pride by an upheaval that shows, gently, how fleeting power is, how the stronger will win the battles that their genes continue on.

Mira survives her banishment and is eventually reunited with her pride, said lion pride taken over by a stronger pack of male lions. Mira goes on to bear and raise the cubs of the victors, the old and scarred male, Fang, having been driven off for his weakness.

The movie features amazing camera work, beautiful vistas of the habitat of the African Cats, close-ups that amaze, true story lines that will teach as well as entertain.


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