Cheetah

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.

Los Angeles teenager Keith Coogan (as Ted Johnson) and pretty sister Lucy Deakins (as Susan) go to live in Kenya for six months. They befriend local goat-herder Colin Mothupi (as Morogo) and adopt a young cheetah after its mother is killed by poachers. Animals in captivity don't learn to hunt properly, and are therefore not easy to return to the wild. When it's time to leave, Mr. Coogan tries to teach "Cheetah" to hunt, but the cat hasn't a clue. Since this seems to be a relatively free-to-roam "outside" cat, you have to wonder if something else is wrong - but, probably, we're just supposed to go with the flow. Also strange is how Coogan and Ms. Deakins share a bedroom - but they seem mature enough to work out any awkwardness. Things get really hairy when poachers target "Cheetah" at the same time Coogan and company are scheduled to leave the continent. The story is far too simple, but the cast is likable and the African locations are very beautiful.

****** Cheetah (8/18/89) Jeff Blyth ~ Keith Coogan, Lucy Deakins, Colin Mothupi, Timothy Landfield

A Rich Treasure of Memories for me. Exquisitely Brilliant Work by whole Team. Best part is It always feels fresh . Not to mention, the Ending is Strong and Realistic.

Adventure, Comradeship, Not giving up, and sorting it out - great attitude Lessons for young people.

Ted And Susan Late Teen siblings, visiting their working parents at Kenya take up an abandoned Cheetah cub along with their new loyal friend and highly intelligent tribal boy Moroggo. As the summer comes to a close ,an unpredictable turn of events and the Free spirited three kids create a story of adventure, Comradeship ,thrill and courage.

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)!

"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.