With yesterday's trip to T&D's Cats of the World still fresh on our minds, today seemed like the perfect time to take the kids out to our local dollar theater (aka Carmike Cinema 6) to see Disneynature's African Cats. As you may know, movies generally do not go well for us - the theater is too loud, too dark, the seemingly innocent kid's movies inevitable scary scene (like thunderstorms and barking dogs) scares someone, etc., etc., etc.
I've now learned that if the film has anything other than a G rating, Matt or Cathy (or maybe both of them) will cry, fuss, take 20 trips to the bathroom or just ask to leave repeatedly until we actually leave. Today's film met my simple criteria and the kids seemed willing to go along... I am sure the promise of $1 popcorn and soda played a role in their decision, but I am not complaining.
Personally, I am a big fan of the Disneynature documentary films - the cinematography is generally spectacular - and this was no exception. The film follows two families - a pride of lions and a single cheetah raising five cubs in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. It's narrated by Samuel Jackson and is pieced together more as a story and less as a documentary. I still found it interesting and entertaining.
The lion and cheetah cubs are adorable and the film focuses on the role the mothers play in teaching their cubs how to survive. In order to tell the story, the 'stars' were given names: Sita, a beautiful cheetah has five cubs... only three of which survive into adulthood (two were taken in the night by a pack of hyenas - one of the cheetah's biggest threats). As the cubs grow, Sita teaches them how to hunt and protect themselves in the Savannah.
Mara and her mother Layla are a part of the River Pride; Layla is one of the most experienced hunters in the group but has been nursing an injury made worse when hunting zebra. Ultimately unable to keep up with and support the pride, Layla left the group and died alone. In a struggle between Fang (the leader of the pride) and Kali, the cubs were forced away and Mara was left, for a time, to fend for herself; she was ultimately accepted back into the pride - Kali's pride. Dramatic? Sure. But I was willing to overlook it because of the beauty of the land and the majesty of the cats. I left the theater making a mental note to add an African safari to my bucket list...
As for the kids, things went mostly better than expected. Matt liked the movie so much that he's been asking if I would take him again tomorrow... and maybe I will. Cathy did better than I expected, but was frightened a bit by some of the hunting scenes. She asked when the movie would be over a few times, then put her head down on my shoulder and took a short nap. When it was over, she very happily declared that the movie wasn't scary at all. Of course it wasn't - she slept through the most gory parts!
I'd love to take the kids to a drive-in movie this summer, while such things still exist. The Super 322 Drive-In, located between Phillipsburg and Clearfield is likely a good bet for that. There's also Tangled and Toy Story 3 scheduled as part of Movies on the Mountain out at Tussey Mountain in August. With both films starting at 9pm, I imagine the kids will fall asleep long before Woody and friends get anywhere near that scary looking incinerator. And if something else that looks appropriate for the kids makes its way to the $1 theater this summer, I am sure we'll be there giving it another try. After all, how can you beat an afternoon of entertainment (including snacks) for $7?
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