Hey folks, Joel here with a new Blu-ray review,
African Cats Blu-ray review
Director: Alastair Fothergill, Keith Scholey
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson (voice only), various animals
Running time: 89 minutes
Age restriction: PG
Genre: Documentary
Film review
In 2011 DisneyNature brought African Cats, a documentary that follows the life of three families of large cats in the wilderness of Africa, to main stream cinema. It’s hard to imagine a documentary entering the mainstream but Disney managed to pull it through. Where African Cats differs from the bulk of the nature offerings found on television is the scope of its narrative. Cats takes the intensity and tragedy of a human tale and applying it to the primal nature of the animal kingdom.
The story is illustrated by narration in the form of Mister Samuel L. Jackson – not an obvious choice but effective in the end. But as interesting an angle as it may be, the film still has some setbacks that knocked it down a little. While narration is a good method for describing what would otherwise be abstract maneuvers, the on screen actions are over-narated at times with Jackson describing every detail constantly, whether caption is required or not. It’s a choice that works well with a chief audience of children however adults might not be as keen on Jackson’s frequent voice overs which tend to lean on the repetitive at times.
The more I watched, the more I realised that this film is aimed at kids. The editors obviously were obviously given the direct task of taking out all the gorey bits which for me is a little odd. It’s odd because nature is violent no matter which way you look at it, you may try to humanise it but they are animals and they kill their prey. I don’t think it’s scarey for anyone, I watched far worse when I was younger and the last thing I would get is nightmares from seeing a cheetah tackle an antelope. That being said, there are scenes where deaths are suggested and this may in some bizarre way affect the kiddies psychologically (I don’t understand this phenomenon but I guess when you watch Robocop at the prime age of 4, one tends to become desensitised from death).
Either way, it’s hard to fault African Cats on what I feel to be a misunderstanding of nature. It’s still fun to watch, not as a documentary though, it’s far too toned down and subjective for that. It must be seen as a movie to be appreciated.
Audio/Video Quality
I’ve always felt that if anything, documentaries (especially of the nature variety) would benefit most from high-definition – Disney did not disappoint with this extraordinary effort. All the textures from the dry earth to the follicles of fur are rendered in a crisp and natural presentation. The atmosphere is also true to life with a nice warm colour palate that doesn’t overdo it on the saturation. Despite these technological advances, slight noise picks up during the night scenes but it’s hardly noticible and deosn’t detract from the experience.
The audio mix is also quite sensibly put together. Jackson’s voice over work usually takes centre stage but doesn’t overpower the ambient noises. I think they put a little too much emphasis on the repetition of the scores main theme but a high point is certainly the use of the surround sound effects to convey movement during chase scenes and the large migrating footsteps of the many surrounding herd animals.
Bonus features
African Cats, just as with many standard edition Disney release doesn’t contain much additional content. Cats in particular lacks any effort in the extras department – just the essentials. Obviously there isn’t an art gallery but a few more featurettes couldn’t have hurt either, instead we get totally spoilt with a Jordan Sparks music video.
Here’s what you get:
Disney & Nature – Pretty much an extended advert for Disney’s theme parks but also talks about their conservation efforts
Save the Savanna – Short video on fund raising for the Savanna.
Jordan Sparks “The World I knew” music video
Overall Score (not an average)
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