纪录片《非洲猫科：勇气王国》

    Disneynature’s “African Cats” opened on Earth Day, but perhaps a better holiday might be Mother’s Day. For the film tells the tale of two mothers — one an aging lioness* with a cub*, the other a cheetah* with five newborns — and their struggles against predators* and nature to raise these cubs until they can live on their own.

    The Disney movie has child-friendly stories and characters within the animal kingdom to teach young audiences about the hard facts of life and death in the grasslands of East Africa.

    It gives its feline* characters names such as Sita, Kali and Fang. The filmmakers spent two-and-a-half years hiding behind their cameras, waiting for those precious* few moments when hunts, fights or high drama occur* so they can piece together a story about “courage and love.”

    The cinematography* and editing are as great as the film’s stars are photogenic* and heroic. A slow-motion shot of a long-limbed cheetah closing in on its prey, dirt and grass spraying in all directions, is nothing short of breathtaking.

    Director/co-producer Keith Scholey, who co-wrote the film with John Truby, sets his story along a river that divides a North Kingdom from a South Kingdom. In the North lives Sita, a beautiful cheetah mom, who must keep her cubs a secret from the rest of nature if they are to live.

    To the South dwells the River Pride, a pack of lionesses that feed their young while Fang, their male protector, patrols* the territory*. Their lead hunter Layla has a 6-month-old cub, Mara.

    Both stories carry plenty of drama: Sita must leave her young when she hunts for their food, leaving them vulnerable* to many enemies including those lions.

    Layla, already slowed by injuries, receives a zebra’s kick while bringing the beast down. If she cannot keep up with the pride as it follows its food sources, her cub may stick with her and die without the pride’s protection.

    Fang too is threatened by a powerful lion, Kali, and four sons, who seek to expand their empire from the North to the South once the water level in that crocodile-infested river goes down.

    These stories, of course, create budding interests for young viewers by selecting heroes and villains* from among wildlife.

    The fearlessness with which the lion and cheetah mothers protect their cubs is amazing.(SD-Agencies)