Sunday, May 8, 2011

AFRICAN CATS




Documentary

PRINCIPAL “CAST" MEMBERS
Mara: 6-month old lion cub
Layla: her mother
Fang: a male lion, leader of the pride
Kali: the leader of a rival group of lions
Sita: a mother cheetah

REVIEW
As one moviegoer put it “fantastic shots and a decent storyline… we just loved it”. And I share that opinion since most films of this nature simply show you a bunch of animals without a story that ties them together. The producers have taken the unusual approach to name the key animals in the narrative so you can easily identify them. As a result you can relate to them like your own pet and not just as some animal in the African savannah.

True to life there are instances when one animal brings down another but the film cleverly cuts at the end of the chase (thereby retaining the drama) and for the most part eliminates the gruesome details of the hunt. The film is definitely for the entire family.

CLASSIFICATION


P.S.
Having recently returned from the Maasai Mara National Reserve, a major game region in southwestern Kenya where all this took place, I can truly appreciate the major challenges the producers faced to get the footage shown. Three questions come to mind:
1.. How did they get so close to the animals without spooking them off?
2.. How could they be in the correct position so many times?
3.. How did they get the orange sunsets? I tried my best without success.

P.S.S.
For a chuckle or two stick around for the end credits listing the cast and crew involved in the production.

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