Disney's African Cats

Leaping into theaters on Earth Day, 2011, “African Cats” features the real-life love, humor and determination of the kings of the African savanna: Mara, an endearing lion cub who strives to grow up with her mother’s strength, spirit and wisdom; Sita, a fearless cheetah and single mother of five mischievous newborns; and Fang, a proud leader of the pride who must defend his family from a rival lion.

      

AFRICAN CATS

DISNEYNATURE

Website and Mobile Site: Disney.com/AfricanCats

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Genre:                                      True Life Adventure

Rating:                                      G

U.S. Release Date:                    April 22, 2011

Narrator:                                    Samuel L. Jackson

Directors:                                  Keith Scholey, Alastair Fothergill

Producers:                                Keith Scholey, Alix Tidmarsh

                                               

An epic true story set against the backdrop of one of the wildest places on Earth, “African Cats” captures the real-life love, humor and determination of the majestic kings of the savanna.  Narrated by Oscar®-nominated actor Samuel L. Jackson, the story features Mara, an endearing lion cub who strives to grow up with her mother’s strength, spirit and wisdom; Sita, a fearless cheetah and single mother of five mischievous newborns; and Fang, a proud leader of the pride who must defend his family from a rival lion and his sons.  Disneynature brings “The Lion King” to life on the big screen in this True Life Adventuredirected by Keith Scholey and Alastair Fothergill (“Earth”).  An awe-inspiring adventure blending family bonds with the power and cunning of the wild, “African Cats” leaps into theatres on Earth Day, April 22, 2011.

Notes:

·                     “African Cats” is the third release for Disneynature, the first new Disney-branded film label from The Walt Disney Studios in more than 60 years.  Launched in April 2008 to bring the world’s top nature filmmakers together to capture a variety of wildlife subjects and stories, Disneynature was behind both “Earth” and “Oceans.”  

·                     “Earth,” the first film to premiere domestically under the new label on Earth Day 2009, garnered a record-breaking opening weekend for a nature documentary.  On its opening day, the film also broke the single-day box-office record for a nature documentary. 

·                     Hitting theaters on April 22, 2010, “Oceans” was the #1 film that day and had the third highest opening weekend box-office gross of all time for a nature film.  “Oceans” is the third highest grossing feature-length nature film in history. 

·                     Walt Disney was a pioneer in wildlife documentary filmmaking, producing 13 True-Life Adventure motion pictures between 1949 and 1960, including “ Seal Island ” (1949), “ Beaver Valley ” (1950), “The Living Desert” (1953) and “Jungle Cat” (1958).  The films earned eight Academy Awards®. 

·                     Narrator Samuel L. Jackson was nominated for an Academy Award® for his performance in “Pulp Fiction.” His credits include big-screen hits like “Die Hard: With a Vengeance,” “A Time to Kill,” “Stars Wars:  Episode 1 — The Phantom Menace,” “Shaft,” “Changing Lanes,” “Kill Bill: Vol. 2,” “The Incredibles,” “Cleaner,” “Unthinkable” and “Iron Man 2.”