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African Cats

Guest Post: Kingdom of Courage

12 October 2011 by Ryan P. Wilson Leave a Comment

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AFRICAN CATSOn Earth Day in 2010, after seeing the trailer for Disneynature: African Cats for the first time, I tweeted out something to the effect that followers should be marking their calendars as the return of True-Life Adventures would begin on 22 April 2011. Today, having viewed the movie in theaters and now in my home, I stand by that unsubstantiated assertion that I felt down in my gut.It isn’t that the creatures featured have been given names to make them more relatable, you find the true depth to the film in its natural narrative of life. The joys of children, the heartache of loss, the thrills of success, and the agony of defeat at the hands of a rival are all present within African Cats, and they are captured without the meddling hands of man. This can cause many stomach churning dilemmas, such as when a cub is lost and the immediate thought is to swoop in and keep a toddling cheetah cub to its safe when hyenas are on the prowl or when one of our heroines is continually injured and seeks a quiet place in the field to move on peacefully when all you want is for someone to give the graceful creature the medical attention she so desperately needs. In a reserve,  the rules is no interference, if simply for the fact that once you begin intruding how do you decide where to stop, what is the line you won’t cross.

The entire feature was shot in Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve, which borders the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. One of the best preserved savanna systems in the world, Masai Mara provided stunning backdrops and gorgeous vistas which are dropped in throughout the movie. Even with an abundance of animal life and fantastic scenery, it took the filmmakers two years and hundreds of hours of filming to craft the story of African Cats.

African Cats
A little humor here, there were two scenes in the movie that, whether intentional or not, reminded me of counterparts in Walt Disney World. First, the ever-present Thomson’s Gazelles immediately made me shout out, “Tommies!” Secondly, a scene where the lions have hunted a zebra and are standing around the carcass was eerily reminiscent of the Jungle Cruise scene where the pack of lions take care to watch over the sleeping zebra.The bonus features of African Cats are, in a word, lackluster and, if given a second and third word, too brief. One focuses on the Save the Savanna initiative tied to the film’s theatrical and home theater releases. A second gives an introduction to the ties between Disney and the wild corners of the world. Lastly, there is the requisite music video, Jordan Sparks’ “The World I Knew” in this instance.

The true hidden gem of the film’s extras, however, comes in the form of the commentary viewing option. This presentation included pop-up informational tidbits, picture-in-picture interviews with the filmmakers, and breakaway featurettes which could be viewed or passed on by the viewer. These breakout videos include a wealth of information on the Masai Mara, slow motion filmmaking, aerial filming, cinematographers, elephants, flimmakers’ camp, vehicles, rain, filming with Cineflex camera, field assistants and tracking the animals, life in the field, and the musical score.

African Cats originally came with the subtitle, Kingdom of Courage, a title befitting the experience of the filmmakers capturing these tales on film and the cats struggling to raise their precious families. The ability to see and explore these wild arenas, where animal families interact in ways that are similar and strikingly different to our own family groups, is remarkable. African Cats will stun you with its beauty and stories that hit remarkably close to home. The filmmakers have done their job well, you will feel for the cheetahs and lions and, if we’re very lucky, this new True-Life Adventure is only just the tip of the iceberg that will renew our, and our children’s, interest in preserve the wild places left in the world.

African Cats
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Filed Under: Guest Authors, Movie Reviews, Movies & Books, Reviews Tagged With: African Cats, African Cats review, Disney dvd, Disney live-action films, Disney movies, Disneynature, Guest Authors, Guest blogs, Kingdom of Courage, Movie Reviews, Ryan P. Wilson

See African Cats-Save The Savanna!

7 April 2011 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

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ZannaLand first showed you the trailer for this awe-inspiring DisneyNature movie back in December. African Cats is now set to open in just a few weeks on Earth Day, April 22, 2011. During the film’s opening week (April 22-28), a portion of the proceeds from that week’s ticket sales will be donated to the African Wildlife Foundation through the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund to protect the Amboseli Wildlife Corridor, a passage between the Amboseli, Tsavo West and Chyulu Hills National Parks that is frequently used by lions, cheetahs, elephants, zebras, giraffes and a host of other animals in the African savanna.

African Cats

An epic true story set against the backdrop of one of the wildest places on Earth, “African Cats” captures the real-life love, humor and determination of the majestic kings of the savanna.  Narrated by Oscar®-nominated actor Samuel L. Jackson, the story features Mara, an endearing lion cub who strives to grow up with her mother’s strength, spirit and wisdom; Sita, a fearless cheetah and single mother of five mischievous newborns; and Fang, a proud leader of the pride who must defend his family from a rival lion and his sons.  Disneynature brings “The Lion King” to life on the big screen in this True Life Adventure directed by Keith Scholey and Alastair Fothergill (“Earth”).  An awe-inspiring adventure blending family bonds with the power and cunning of the wild, “African Cats” leaps into theatres on Earth Day, April 22, 2011.

You can view the trailer again here below:

 

You can also download this cool African Cats Educational Guide and AfricanCats Activity Sheet for African Cats. Great for kids activities and homeschooling!

Like AFRICAN CATS on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/Disneynature.

African Cats

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Filed Under: Movies & Books, Official Disney Tagged With: African Cats, African Wildlife Fund, AWF, Disneynature, movie trailer, Samuel L Jackson, Save the Savanna, Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Studios

See DisneyNature’s African Cats, Save the Savanna

7 December 2010 by Suzannah Otis 1 Comment

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My family and I were lucky enough to see the trailer for African Cats during our screening of Tangled and I can’t tell you how many “aww’s and oooh’s!” there were coming from the audience in reaction to the beautiful scenes in front of us.

AFRICAN CATS

 

Now DisneyNature is announcing its collaboration with the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), where a portion of the proceeds from the film’s opening week will be donated to the organization through the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund. The AWF will be working to protect the Amboseli Wildlife Corridor, a passage between the Amboseli, Tsavo West and Chyulu National Parks, that is frequently used by a variety of wildlife.


Check out the gorgeous trailer:

[Read more…] about See DisneyNature’s African Cats, Save the Savanna

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Filed Under: All blogs, Movies & Books Tagged With: African Cats, African Wildlife Fund, AWF, Disneynature, movie trailer, Save the Savanna, Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Studios

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