SYNOPSIS:
Every great story has a magical beginning especially when that story involves the real-life adventures of a unique family of meerkats known as the Whiskers and their most beloved member, Flower. As prequel to the Meerkat Manor television series, this feature film traces the rise of Flower from a young meerkat pup to the leader of the pack. Watch as Flower blooms into a remarkable matriarch and forges a legacy amidst the unforgiving landscape of one of the harshest deserts on the planet the Kalahari. Narrated by Academy Award® -winning actress Whoopi Goldberg, Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins will warm your heart and leave you awed by the magic of Flower s journey.
MOVIE REVIEW:
We are not trying to trivialize things here, but when the animal 'meerkat' is mentioned, we are reminded of Timon from the Disney animated movie The Lion King (1994). You know, the one who sings merrily along to the tune "Hakunna Matata" with his pal Pumbaa the warthog? So don’t blame us if we began watching this documentary with the perception that meerkats are adorably cute creatures. After 76 minutes, we are convinced that meerkats are more than what they seem to be. Yes, they do look cute, but they are one hell of a ferociously determined species too.
If you are a fan of Animal Planet’s TV series Meerkat Manor, then this feature length would make perfect sense to you. Produced in 2008 as a television movie by Discovery Films and Oxford Scientific Films, this documentary is a prequel to the series, incorporating familiar character names into this production. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg (apparently she is a hardcore fan of the series), the film chronicles the life of a meerkat named Flower from birth to her becoming the leader of a meerkat group called the Whiskers.
Like other nature documentaries we have seen, the film is based on research notes gathered by experts in the area, before coming up with a scripted tale and using wild meerkat 'actors' to represent the different characters in the story. The first thing that grabs you is how the camera crew managed to capture such breathtaking images and visuals for the film. Aerial shots, underground burrowing shots, magnificent shots of animals in wildlife, these all point towards a very professional camera crew who went all out to obtain these shots.
As this is a family targeted picture, we understand why it is so staightfowardly simple. The easy to understand choice of words for the narration provided by Goldberg (trivia: she provided the voice of a hyena in The Lion King) is accessible and engaging. This makes sure that adults and kids will connect to the story related.
The problem with documentaries like this is how factually accurate it is. As viewers are already drawn to the plot development, they may miss out on the scientific truth when it comes to a world where meerkats do not have names like Flower, and groups do not have names like Whiskers. However, it is still a good platform to get people, especially younger audiences to spark their interest and learn more about these interesting creatures. No, they do not sing in real life. And if you sit through this well produced documentary, you’ll also know how determined they are, which will hopefully serve as an inspiration to our own lives.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
This Code 3 DVD contains no extra features.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
There is nothing to complain about the movie’s visual transfer. it is presented in its original English language.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING :
Review
by John Li
Posted on 8 November 2009
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