Here are my adventures with Disney's films about Africa and the incredible animals that live there. These films defy any rating system, so I won't even try to assign a number to them.
African Cats: I love Mother Earth. I love Mother Earth more than I love most people on this Earth. So every April 22nd, I celebrate Earth Day with the DisneyNature release each year. I missed the first one, Earth, but have seen the last two, Oceans in 2010 and this year's African Cats. It's a great way to celebrate my love of Mother Earth and Disney all at one time. So I took myself to the theater this past April to see African Cats. I liked Oceans from last year, but it's not something I'd really crave to watch again. There was no real storyline, just an exploration of the world under the sea.
I LOVED African Cats, though. It told a story. The filmmakers followed several families of lions and cheetahs. And while the power struggle was fascinating, I really enjoyed the focus on motherhood. It explored the way a lioness protects and loves her daughter, and the way a cheetah mother taught her young. I got extremely attached to the lioness story. It was so beautiful. She was the most experienced huntress in their pride. She gets injured and it's absolutely heartbreaking to see her daughter love on her. And the fact that it's a true story - complete with names given to each cat by the filmmakers - made me fall even more in love with the film.
The Lion King: Disney decided to re-release their 1994 classic in 3D this fall. I wasn't planning on seeing it until I realized that it would also be in 2D. Our entire family when to see it in theaters when it first came out, but I don't have vivid memories of the event. So I was very excited to be able to see it on the big screen and hear Elton John and Tim Rice's wonderful music on such a sound system. It was better than I could have dreamed. I cried four times.
If you haven't seen this movie, then I don't even know what to say to you. It's loosely based on Shakespeare's incredible tragedy, Hamlet. I remember that in high school, after watching The Lion King once again, that I had an idea. An idea to make this film into a live action film with humans in the roles. Then I found out it was based on Hamlet. Then I thought to myself, "I guess it has been done before." Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's a timeless story. One of betrayal, love, duty, and destiny. Absolutely one of the best films Disney has ever done. And to have seen it on the big screen, for what I consider the first time, was a great honor for me. A really great way to spend a Saturday afternoon, with my sister who watched our VHS tape over and over again with me. We still have it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was worn out.
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