The story of Suki, a lioness cub, who rebels against her mother and her pride to mate with an unsuitable lion from the other side of the river. Her journey to less than a comfortable environ... Read allThe story of Suki, a lioness cub, who rebels against her mother and her pride to mate with an unsuitable lion from the other side of the river. Her journey to less than a comfortable environment teaches her much. She re-crosses the river to defend her pride from invading wanderer... Read allThe story of Suki, a lioness cub, who rebels against her mother and her pride to mate with an unsuitable lion from the other side of the river. Her journey to less than a comfortable environment teaches her much. She re-crosses the river to defend her pride from invading wanderers led by her former suitor.
- Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys
- 1 win & 3 nominations total
Photos
- Suki
- (voice)
- Macheeba
- (voice)
- Linus
- (voice)
- Fleck
- (voice)
- James
- (voice)
- Eddie
- (voice)
- Lush
- (voice)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
A lot of films where animals have a human talking as them don't always work but this does, the script brings personality to the characters and is believable.
Another thing is that I don't think this film can only be enjoyed by the young, it can be enjoyed by the young and the young at heart older people. I'm now 23 and I watched it again today and absolutely loved it, again.
Please watch this with your children. A decent(ish) version of it can be found on putlockers website.
It's family compatible so round up your kids and have good time.
STOP reading if you want to discover it fresh for yourself, but the following comments only address how the movie was filmed, NOT the actual story. Lions from two sources were used. First, tame lions in a preserve were filmed for many stock shots of running, jumping, crossing water on a fallen tree, things like that. Enticed with large pieces of meat at the end of a pole, the lions were very cooperative.
More inventive was the use of a 'boulder cam', a radio-controlled camera inside an enclosure shaped like a boulder, but on wheels. Controlled from a nearby truck, it could, and did, follow the lions into hunting and feeding sessions, into the midst of their den, even climbing large rock formations, for a total of 300 days. After initial curiosity, the lions accepted this 'boulder on wheels' as a part of their environment.
The extras also showed how computer techniques were used to make the lions change expressions and appear to speak.
The story is also a good one. Suki (voiced by Kate Winslet) is shunned out of her pride for refusing to contribute to their food supply by hunting. She is disgusted by killing. Other subplots include fighting between the pride and "the wanderers," the "bad guys" of the film who refuse to live with the pride, and instead reside in a barren area of the savanna.
I am most impressed with the acting of the lions, especially the cubs. I would imagine that getting lions to behave as desired is not an easy task.
I liked that this animal film wasn't all cuteness and light like some others, it had it's edgy moments, with the lions displaying their inate fierceness.
Overall, an enjoyable experience, and one I highly recommend.
This film's setting is really beautiful and the real lions - were they tame or not tame? I expect they were made tame for the picture, or else they were just machinery, which I don't think is true.
This film has a good plot and storyline. It has the first half of the film as Linus, Suki and Fleck cubs and the second half of them as grown-ups.
The jokes are absolutely TOP. My favourite joke (Don't worry, no spoilers) is when Macheeba goes "We're like the stars." Linus says, "What we come out at night?" "We're pretty but don't do anything?" asks Suki. "No," goes Fleck. "Everyone points at us."
So watch this lovely film!! Enjoy! :) ;) :()
P.S Everyone who doesn't like this film must have been very grumpy when they watched it and I think they should watch it again.
Did you know
- TriviaTwo of the voice actors of this film passed away on the same day. Robbie Coltrane and Jan Rabson both died on October 14, 2022.
- GoofsAfter Fleck's mother is killed, he is referred to throughout the film as an orphan. In fact, one of the adult males in the pride would have been his father. He, Linus and the other young males would also have left the pride at sexual maturity, not stuck around and tried to mate with the lionesses (as Fleck tries to do with Suki), who would be their relatives.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Zomergasten: Episode #18.3 (2005)