We next head into the Amazon jungle for the final film of the True-Life Adventure Series. For this project, I’m focusing on the story itself, including dialogue, character development, any subplots, how a story presents itself, the speed at which it moves, if it slows down unnecessarily, etc.
A Brief Summary
Taken from D23
The last of the True-Life Adventure series, Winston Hibler narrates the story of the South American jaguar. After a background is given on the cat’s history, the daily life of the jaguar is shown. Two jaguars mate, teach their kittens, hunt, and fight their worst enemies, the crocodile and huge boa constrictor who are after their kittens. The setting of the film is the vivid jungle and its inhabitants, with a striking finale of a sunset on the Amazon River. Animals depicted include giant anteaters, jungle otters, iguana, tapir, sloth, and monkeys.
What works
- The pacing of this movie was great. I was so caught up by what was showing on the screen, that I didn’t feel the need to check to see how much longer the movie was (which I have had to before during other movies).
- 7 minutes in and the first kill. It’s gonna be a bit of a ride, this movie, for my emotions.
- Like other True Life films, the focus in the jungle is not just on one animal but several that help make the film seem more realistic.
- I would also add that, more than any other true-life film, this one had my heart pounding. I’m not sure what the difference between this and the other films, but I was on the edge of my seat for a good majority of this movie.
- The final movie battle between the jaguars and the boa constrictor was so tense. Would the male jaguar be squeezed to death? Will his mate rescue him? Will they completely abandon the body of the snake after they kill? Only time will tell.
What may or may not work
- At the beginning was a briefish history of cats ranging from domestic cat to larger wild breeds before honing in on “jungle cat” – jaguar of Brazil/Amazon. I’m not saying that it was bad, I just wasn’t expecting that particular educational lesson. But it’s not like this was my first True Life film, so I shouldn’t have been surprised.
Honorable Mentions
- The speed at which a male and female jaguar went from enemy to lover was shown in such a way that would make Simba and Nala blush. Heck, I was nearly blushing for them.
- During one of the occasions that focused on a different animal, there was a mother/child sloth pair that were trying to swim to shore and being chased by a predator. That entire scene made me SO NERVOUS (partly because after the death of another cute little animal in the movie, I wasn’t emotionally prepared).
Side Questions
- There were some amazingly close shots of various animals shown in the movie. And according to the D23 website, “Three top naturalist-photographers spent over two years in the Amazon basin of Brazil filming this superbly photographed documentary.” So my question is how. How did they get such amazing close-up shots? There was one, especially, that showed a jaguar climbing up a tree and towards the camera. How did they get that particular shot done? I’m so curious!
Would I watch this movie again?
- Yeah, I would. It was well done and I got a good amount of enjoyment and nerve-wracking moments out of it.
If you’ve seen Jungle Cat, what are some of your thoughts? Share in the comments below!
Rewind to the beginning of the Disney Film Project
Skip back to the previous film with The Sign of Zorro
Fast Forward to the next film with Ten Who Dared
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