African Cats

The Masai Mara in Kenya. Two stories run in parallel: an injured lioness and her cub, at risk of being pushed out of the pride, and a cheetah mother raising five cubs alone. The river, the drought and rival prides work as a third character. Keith Scholey and Alastair Fothergill directed, for Disneynature. The method is contested and undisguised: two years of real footage, later shaped by editing and narration into named characters and an orderly dramatic structure. The animals get names and their behaviour is given intent. The image quality makes you forget that. Long-lens work and night footage show exactly how much time the crew put in on the ground. Disneynature's usual practice held here too: a share of opening-week ticket revenue went to conservation work in Africa. Who it is for: families looking for a nature film to watch together. Who it is not for: viewers who want unmediated observation; the narration humanises its animals on purpose.