In this edifying documentary, the third in Disneynature series, we meet two mothers, a worn-out lioness with a cub and a cheetah with five newborns. It was filmed in Kenya's Maasai Mara National Reserve over a two-and-a half year period. The narrator is Samuel Jackson.
African Cats is, according to filmmakers Keith Scholey and Alastair Fothergil, a story of "love and courage." It is impressive to witness the nurturing instincts of these mothers. What comes across in equal measure is the mercilessness of the struggle as these wild animals try to find food, protect their young, and deal with other very aggressive predators. A river divides the worlds of Sita, a cheetah who is raising her brood alone, and Layla, the lead hunter in a pride with her cub Mara. Fang is the alpha male lion who protects the others from a feisty crocodile but doesn't fare so well against a vagabond male lion called Kali whose four sons give him the power he needs to take over the land north and south of the river. Sita, the sleek and fast cheetah, has to leave her cubs alone while she goes hunting. They face danger in the form of a pack of hyenas.
While there are some fascinating and compelling scenes in African Cats, it lacks the poignancy and high drama of The Last Lions.
Special features on the Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo include: Disc 1 - Blu-ray: filmmakers' annotations - interactive experience takes you behind the scenes with the filmmakers and conservationists and "The World I Knew" – a Jordin Sparks music video; and Disc 2 - DVD: "Disney and Nature" and "Save the Savanna."
