|
White Lion
When I think of a white
lion, I think of Kimba the White Lion, a fun Japanese cartoon of the
last decade about a lion cub with more courage than all the kings of
jungle. Even though this cartoon was based on white lion, there is
actually some merit behind this story which is where White Lion
comes into the picture.
For a lion to be born white,
there is some powerful African spirituality behind this occurrence. With
that said, White Lion is not a documentary but a rather wholesome family
movie thanks to director Michael Swan with writers writers Janet Van
Eeden and Ivan Milborrow.
At times, White Lion seems like an amalgam of
Milo & Otis meets Meerkat Manor in its presentation. The star of White
Lion is Letsatsi which revolves around his journey as an outcast due to
his colour as it is retold by an African story teller (John Kani) as he recounts the tale
of Letsatsi.
Joining our friendly
storyteller is Gisani (Thabo Malema), a tribesman
who has dedicated part of his life to protect the lion until the cub
becomes the king of the jungle. This is Letsatsi's story as we are taken
on a journey of ups and downs revolving this cute little white lion.
Given that the White Lion
is a family movie, there are a few scary bits for younger children and
considering that we are dealing with meat eaters and lions, one really
should expect this such as the lions hunting other animals.
Even though
the story feels like a Saturday Disney movie with some really over the
top acting, the visuals of the movie are quite stunning, especially some
of the amazing footage of these animals and cinematography of Africa.
It's definitely a feel good movie and is great that some companies are still making stories for the family and
White Lion is one of these
movies but it does play the safe card a little.
Special Features
White Lion - Behind the Scenes
Cast Production Stills
Film Poster |
