African Cats
AFRICAN CATS Anthropomorphizing its animal stars to a borderline-dubious degree, Disneynature’s nonfiction African Cats situates itself in Kenya’s river-divided Masai Mara National Reserve, where two four-legged mothers — an aging lioness with one daughter, and a single-mom cheetah with five newborn cubs — valiantly struggle to provide for and protect their young. Like the recent The Last Lions, directors Keith Scholey and Alastair Fothergill’s documentary is a cornucopia of gorgeous wildlife imagery, here much of it in rhapsodic slow-motion that captures the ferocious majesty of its subjects on the prowl, in cozy repose and on the defensive against predators. Far less striking than its panoramas of feral familial bonds, however, are the narrative’s good-versus-evil dynamics, which — heightened by Samuel L. Jackson’s over-the-top narration — seem to have been massaged in post-production for supreme melodramatic effect. As befitting a Mouse House production, blood is nonexistent and warm uplift is the ultimate destination, replete with cornball “Where are they now?” postscripts. Yet if it maintains a superficially manipulative façade, the film remains committed to addressing the harsh realities of existence on the plains, be it through the depiction of a child’s painful choice between pride and parent or the resignation of an old cat to its lonely, final fate. (Nick Schager)
Now Showing
Find capsule reviews, showtimes & tickets for all films in town.
Join My Voice Nation for free stuff, film info & more!
Now Trending
Movie Trailers
-
Voice Places
Find everything you're looking for in your city
-
Happy Hour App
Find the best happy hour deals in your city
-
Daily Deals
Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%
-
Best Of...
Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city
- Profile
- Newsletters
- Mobile
- Logout
-
Publishing:
ONOFF
