What would it be like to grow up as a cheetah or a lion? "African Cats," released by Disney's sub-branch Disneynature this past Earth Day, attempts to answer this question by telling the stories of two families of African cats living on the savanna.
The entire film is set in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, where a large river divides the savanna in two. On one side of the river lives Fang, the leader of the southern river pride, and his relatives. Another lion, Kali, and his four sons live on the other side of the river and present the greatest threat to Fang's territory. Over the course of the film, the two prides come into contact on two occasions, one of which results in Kali usurping Fang and gaining control of both sides of the river.
Meanwhile, the film also tells the story of Sita, a lone cheetah mother who lives near the lions. With both storylines, the focus is on the relationships between mothers and their young; Mara, the daughter of lions Fang and Layla, is arguably the protagonist of the story. Mara and Sita's five offspring grow and learn over the course of the film, providing plenty of cuteness and a clear timeline to the overlapping stories.
Though "African Cats" does its best to provide some scientific information about the animals it showcases, the narration of the film is its greatest weakness. While many nature films manage to successfully mix storytelling and documentation to engage and educate their viewers, "African Cats" never seems to step much past being a dramatic real-life "The Lion King" (1994), or a dumbed-down version of Animal Planet's "Meerkat Manor" (2005-08). The animals of the film are too anthropomorphized and too dramatized for them to be taken seriously as wildlife subjects. Furthermore, the "plot" of the movie is so tidy and has such a happy, stereotypically Disney ending that it detracts from some of the wild allure of the animals' lives.
Though Samuel L. Jackson has a voice that lends itself well to narration, he wasn't given a script that had very much variety or depth. Overgeneralizations and humanizations abound, such as when Jackson says that "there is nothing closer than the bond between a mother cheetah and her young" or that "to Mara, [Fang] is the best father in the world." Not to be a wet blanket, but it is doubtful that young Mara actually compares her father to any other lion on the savanna, or does much thinking beyond where she will get her next meal.
That's not to say that "African Cats" isn't technically masterful. Shot entirely on location, the film contains truly incredible footage that will be best suited to the enormous screens of a movie theater. From the vastness of the savanna to the rippling muscles of its feline stars, the dazzling visuals are a highlight of the movie.
The clever cinematography is particularly noticeable during the hunting scenes, when the camera slinks, jumps and races right alongside lioness Layla and cheetah Sita. It is mind-boggling to consider how much effort must have gone into shooting some of the film's scenes, which do successfully capture the body language of the family members' nuanced relationships.
Overall, the main struggle in "African Cats" is that of balancing the restrictions of a documentary with the task of appealing to a younger audience. Disney doesn't seem to believe that younger viewers would be interested in learning much about the lives of savanna animals, so it glosses over much of the scientific information that would have made the film more appealing to older audiences and prevented "African Cats" from seeming like just another Disney movie.
This is a good movie for young children, and it will seem right at home sandwiched between "The Lion King" and "Ratatouille" (2007) on a video shelf — just don't expect the film to be anything more than what you immediately think it would be. It is, first and foremost, a story.
