61
Metascore
20 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe cinematography and editing are as superb as the film's feline stars are photogenic and heroic.
- 88Orlando SentinelRoger MooreOrlando SentinelRoger MooreAlmost every shot is a postcard-perfect African vista, and every animal shown in majestic close-up.
- 75Philadelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyPhiladelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyThough African Cats is G-rated, scenes of animals chowing down on other animals are not for the faint of heart or delicate of stomach. I don't think it's suitable for those under 6, and they should be prepared for real animal behavior. But it's deeply involving and primally moving.
- 70Boxoffice MagazinePete HammondBoxoffice MagazinePete HammondDirectors Keith Scholey (who also wrote the narration) and Alastair Fothergill spent nearly three years capturing this remarkable footage, and have edited it judiciously with an eye to entertainment.
- 70Village VoiceNick SchagerVillage VoiceNick SchagerThat visual beauty helps compensate for a script that wastes no opportunity for heartstring tugging, often in the form of adorable tykes playing with each other and cuddling with their elders in close-up.
- 70Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinLos Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinDespite its family-friendly trappings, "Cats" is largely serious stuff; deliberately paced, thematically dark and often wistfully told, with enough moments of survival-oriented tension and dread to question its G rating.
- 63Boston GlobeTom RussoBoston GlobeTom RussoScholey, Fothergill, and crew do impressive work, but we're also reminded that wild animals don't know from cues, marks, and scripts. That's part of what makes them so compelling.
- 55MovielineStephanie ZacharekMovielineStephanie ZacharekMostly, though, African Cats is extremely tactful about the truly harsh stuff that goes down in the world of nature.
- 40Time OutKeith UhlichTime OutKeith UhlichSince this is a House of Mouse production, sentimental order must inevitably be grafted onto nature's pitiless chaos. The cornball voiceover ascribes human wants and desires to the animals.