Am I wrong for liking this movie as much as I did? I’m not the biggest lover of nature documentaries out there, in fact, I can’t make it through one without falling asleep, but I really enjoyed this one.
What Works: This thing is as interesting as it possibly could be. Samuel L. Jackson provides the threatening narration. The movie is the first Disney nature documentary to actually have narrative momentum (there’s two families of lions quarreling over the same territory). And there are moments that have real tension. It actually works as a film instead of a collection of cutesy moments.
What Doesn’t Work: Although the scenery is no slouch, the movie is undeniably less beautiful than Disney’s previous Oceans and Earth. I guess there’s a price to be paid for actually crafting a narrative. Also, I might have liked to see more cats than just lions and cheetahs, but nothing major stands in the way of enjoying this film big time.
What I Would Have Done Differently: I’m not saying my way would have been better, but since the last two Disney nature films are Earth and Oceans, it would have made sense to have this one be Air, and followed all types of animals that can fly.