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Each year, Disneynature releases a new nature documentary—a grand, dramatic film, shot in stunning high-definition, that reminds audiences of the natural beauty of our planet. But while earlier releases Earth and Oceans offered an overview of various habitats, African Cats narrows its focus, following the stories of two families: a pride of lions and a small family of cheetahs.
Leila is the oldest of six lionesses who, with their cubs, make up the River Pride—a family of lions protected by leader Fang. Aging and injured, Leila struggles to care for her cub, Mara, as the pride is threatened by Kali, a strong and powerful lion from the other side of the river, who seeks to take control of the River Pride with help from his four sons.
While Leila has a family to help her, however, Sita is on her own. The cheetah mother has to care for five cubs without the help of sisters or a strong protector. She must hunt to feed her young while guarding them from predators like Kali and his sons or the hyenas who hunt at night.
Dramatically and enthusiastically narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, African Cats follows two feline families as they struggle to survive in the pride lands of Kenya.
It’s no surprise that the film is visually stunning. Director Alastair Fothergill (who’s teamed up with co-director Keith Scholey) is well-known for his work on breathtaking BBC docs like Planet Earth and The Blue Planet—and African Cats offers the same kind of high-quality, high-definition footage. From sweeping landscapes to detailed close-ups, the jaw-dropping imagery alone makes it well worth 90 minutes of your time.
The sound, too, is absolutely remarkable. Though the score complements the story well, the best moments are often those without music—when the animals get to speak for themselves. There’s nothing quite like hearing a lion roar in full surround sound—or listening to the chorus of animals that roam the pride lands at night—making the soundtrack almost as unforgettable as the stunning visuals.
But African Cats is more than just another good-looking (and good-sounding) nature doc. While many nature films eventually tend to feel like more of the same, this one offers a little something extra. Instead of merely presenting snippets of stories about different animals in different parts of the world, African Cats tells two complete—and compelling—stories, following two neighboring (and occasionally even interacting) groups of animals. In the process, it holds viewers’ attention by giving them characters to care about and stories to follow. It follows both stories to their completion, too, giving viewers some closure in the end.
From the light-hearted comedy of the cheetah cubs at play to the Shakespearian drama of the lions’ power struggle, African Cats is yet another captivating Disneynature documentary. If you’ve always wanted to travel to Africa to see the big cats for yourself—but haven’t been able to save up enough money for your own private safari—African Cats is the next best thing.
Blu-ray Review:
The Blu-ray release of African Cats has been perfectly timed, to coincide with the release of Disney’s beloved animated classic The Lion King. After all, what better way to complement an animated film about lions and their struggle to rule the pride lands than with an up-close-and-personal look at real lions and their real struggle to rule the pride lands?
The two-disc release of African Cats also includes a few special features—like Jordin Sparks’s “The World I Knew” music video and Disney & Nature, a short feature that shows Disney’s commitment to the planet. For more on the film and its captivating feline characters, there’s Save the Savanna, which also gets more into the issues facing the animals that call this part of Kenya their home. Or, for an even more in-depth look at the filmmaking process, you can watch the entire film with the filmmaker annotations: a collection of pop-up trivia, video commentaries, and additional behind-the-scenes footage.
Though I would have liked to see a few more making-of features outside of the filmmaker annotations, the annotations track is worth watching, adding even more fascinating footage to an already stunning natural experience.
