Cheetah: Una aventura en la selva

This is a very fun movie. My sisters, friends and I grew up watching Cheetah and it is a bit of a cult favorite amongst us. The scenery is beautiful, the characters are fun, the animals are gorgeous and outwitting poachers is awesome! We learned the words to the Swahili song in the movie and we still love that song. We loved the movie so much that my mom promised to take us to Africa in ten years (note to parents: never make promises you don't intend to keep assuming that a six-year old will not remember it in ten years). Of course we never made it to Africa, but when I was 16 we had a Cheetah viewing party in honor of it. The movie was a little cheesier than I remembered it from when I was little, but we still loved it. I have been looking for Cheetah at video stores since then, but it seems to have been forgotten since VHS phased out. I just found out it is now available on DVD, and although I have never bought a movie in my life, I think I may just have to buy this one for my kids (I won't be promising them trips to Africa though)!

Californian teens Ted (Keith Coogan) and Susan (Lucy Deakins) come to Kenya to stay with their scientist parents for six months. They befriend local child goat herder Morogo. They find a baby cheetah after the mother is killed by poacher. They name her Duma. She gets bigger and they try to teach her how to hunt with little success. Duma gets kidnapped by poachers who wants to race her against greyhounds. They suspect Patel but they are suppose to return home. Instead, they sneak off to rescue Duma with Morogo's help.

It's a simple family movie. The two lead actors are good capable performers. The rest of the cast are pretty amateurish. The story isn't anything special. The best thing about the movie is the wild life. There are some good close encounters. It's a good one for the tiny ones but not for anybody else.

I understand that this film was made with a young audience in mind. A very, VERY young audience, I suspect. But that is no excuse for dumbing-down to the point of idiocy, poorly written dialogue that is so "child-friendly" that it actually has all the adults talking like children (dumb ones), and a sledge-hammer approach to the "message".

Children are not morons. Even young children. A skilled writer can produce a movie which is entirely palatable to an eight-year-old, yet still explores a variety of themes and ideas in a realistic and un-patronising way. Older characters don't have to behave like children in order to be liked/understood/accepted by children. They should be portrayed truthfully.

This film wastes many great opportunities. The scenery is beautiful, and well photographed by a competent crew. In fact, the whole film is competently made. It just suffers from TERRIBLE writing, which has a knock-on effect right down the line. The acting seems poor, but this is mainly due to the atrocious material that the talented cast is forced to work with. The story, though far from original, is worth another telling, and there's certainly nothing wrong with messages about loving and respecting wildlife. But even a very young audience doesn't need to be repeatedly whacked over the head with it.

This film can be compared with many others of its kind; all of which are superior, mainly because they are better written, better acted, and don't talk down to their audience. I recommend "Born Free: A New Adventure" and "Dumas" as both being very good examples of how very similar stories can be told in a less patronising way. (And of course the original "Born Free" is essential viewing, though admittedly very dated by modern standards.)

The script is the foundation of every film, TV show, or play. I should have LOVED this film. It has all the right ingredients. But sadly it was built on a very shaky foundation. And as a result, it fell down.

5/10

Why does Disney always make movies about kids befriending animals and saving them from poachers? There are just too many to count. In spite of that, this is a good children's movie.

Two kids, Ted (Kieth Coogan) and Susan (Lucy Deakins), are living in Kenya with their parents who are scientists. Boredom overtakes these city kids until they adopt a cheetah and raise. Soon, however, they must release it into the wild, due to the obvious difficulties of raising an adult cheetah and the necessity of having it live outside of the captive. Except, their cheetah is taken up by those damn poachers. So, the kids and their parents, fight against the armed poachers to get it back.

This movie is quite similar to a "A Far Off Place" which was released a few years later, starring Reece Witherspoon and Ethan Embry. If you enjoy "Cheetah," you'll likely enjoy that one as well. These were pretty decent kids movies and ones that provide a gorgeous view of Sub Sahara Africa.

"Cheetah" is a treasure of a family film. It is very memorable, and enjoyable throughout. The acting is good, as the young cast of stars shine. The scenery is amazing, and the premise is a unique, original idea. I'm surprised this film hasn't received more attention, as it is truly one of the greatest family films ever. Disney does a superb job here with "Cheetah"...people of all ages will enjoy this film.