NEW YORK (CNS) — An impressive safari is as close as the nearest cineplex thanks to the arrival of the nature documentary “African Cats” (Disneynature). Better yet, the titular felines — though, on occasion, they’re ferocious to one another — prove “purrfectly” friendly to family audiences.
As actor Samuel L. Jackson narrates the story of a pride of lions and a clan of cheetahs – both of them living on the savannah in Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve – their varied fortunes take on the interest of a savage soap opera.
The lions are threatened by the rivalry between their veteran but aging alpha male, Fang, and Kali, the relatively youthful, thoroughly aggressive leader of a neighboring group of unmated males. Should Kali succeed in his conquest, he will drive off Fang’s existing offspring and replace them with new young of his own.
For no-nonsense single cheetah mom Sita and the pack of playful cubs over which she watches, meanwhile, potential perils – ranging from roaming bands of hyenas to the aforementioned kings of the jungle — seem to lurk everywhere.
Splendid landscape footage of verdant hills and meandering waterways lends a sense of exotic adventure to this screen outing. And remarkably detailed animal close-ups — in which each strand of fur seems, at times, distinctly visible – create an unusual bond of intimacy with its personality-rich subjects.
Directors Keith Scholey and Alastair Fothergill considerately spare youngsters the nitty-gritty of predatory behavior by discreetly cutting away at the climax of each combat.
But the harsh Darwinian dynamic that ruthlessly eliminates the weak – however familiar and sympathetic they may have become to viewers – is not disguised. As a result, sensitive tykes may not be the only ones who feel their heartstrings being yanked as nature takes its necessary, but sometimes uncongenial, course.
The Catholic News Service classification is A-I – general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is G – general audiences. All ages admitted
