Plot:
African Cats, referred to as a "true life adventure,"[9] tells the true story of two animal families in the wild by using real-life footage.[10] The film focuses on a young lion cub named Mara raised by her mother Layla, a mother cheetah named Sita who is raising five newborns, and Fang, the leader of Mara and her mother′s pride defending his family from a banished lion named Kali. [11][12] With so many species competing for space and food in the savanna, the animals must figure out what′s the best way to survive.
The film begins by introducing Sita, a cheetah who lives in the vast plains of the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. She has just given birth to five cubs to take care of and teach to hunt so they can survive on their own. Then we see Mara, a six month-old lion cub, with her
mother Layla, who both belong to the River pride. The pride′s leader is Fang, an old male lion, who has a distinctive broken tooth because of an earlier fight. In the north of the Maasai Mara, Sita and her cubs coexist with another lion pride, led by a large male named Kali, who wishes to expand his pride and territory by taking over Fang′s southern pride and territory. However, he cannot reach it as the Pride Lands are divided by a crocodile infested river.
Sita′s cubs are playing while Kali and his four sons are on patrol. Sita, seeing them as a serious danger to her cubs, goads Kali and his sons so as to get them tired and to lure them away from her cubs. However, after the confrontation, the cubs have scattered. Sita calls desperately for them throughout the night. As it gets darker, spotted hyenas are seen and heard. In the morning, three of the five cubs return to Sita. Although she continues to call to the rest of them, it is well revealed that the remaining cubs were killed by hyenas.
Meanwhile, Layla is injured by a zebra′s kick while hunting. As the wildebeest begin to migrate to greener pastures, so does the River pride. However, due to her injury and her older age, Layla has trouble keeping up. Mara stays beside her mother and helps on her way. Soon, they begin to lose track of the pride. Knowing that Mara needs the pride for her own survival, Layla forces through her injury, and they soon find themselves within the River pride once more.
As time passes, Sita′s cubs have thrived, and begin to show more of their cheetah nature. One day, a gang of three adult cheetah brothers roaming about zone in on Sita. Again, Sita finds herself having to divert attention from rivals so that they don′t find her cubs. However, being fellow cheetahs, they don′t tire as easily as lions do; and soon, the brothers separate Sita from her cubs. As they circle them, the cubs stand their ground and hiss at the bullies, meaning they have inherited their mother′s prowess and bravery. Before the older cheetah brothers can do anything, a passing elephant chases them away.
Some time later, the river that separates the River and northern prides has lessened. Kali and one of his sons take advantage of it so they can cross and begin their assault on the River pride. They head towards the southern territory. Fang, upon seeing them approaching, runs away, but Layla doesn′t back away – knowing that Mara would be killed by Kali and his son should she fail, she attacks and tries to run them off. Soon, the other lionesses join in the fight. Kali and his son are defeated; they back off and return to the northern territory. Victory completed, Fang returns, and life returns to usual for the pride as well.
However, Layla was injured ever further during the fight. Seeing that she might not make it, for Mara′s sake, she goes to her sister Malika – who has cubs of her own –, and reconnects with her so as to maintain a spot for Mara in the pride. Once she sees that Mara is accepted by her sister, Layla slips away from the pride to find a nice quiet place to die.
As time goes by, Kali reunites with his four sons. Although they have shown signs of betrayal with ideas of dethroning him, Kali is still strong, and shows them that he′s the boss and that only he will wear the crown. Together, they are the most powerful force in the land and return for another assault. Upon seeing them, Fang runs away, never to be seen or heard from again – if he is to return again, he′ll be shown no mercy.
Kali takes over the pride and exiles Fang′s cubs, including Mara. Her male cousins are seen as the number one threat to Kali and his sons, so they hunt them down. Seeing that they can no longer stay within their pride, the young male lions have no choice but to cross the river, even though its level has grown and it′s infested with crocodiles. As they near the northern bank, one of them is nearly caught in the jaws of a crocodile; nonetheless, they both reach land unscathed. The lionesses refuse to admit Kali as their leader, the wound of losing their cubs still fresh in their minds.
Mara, banished by her pride, tries to live on her own and fend for herself. However, she was banished before she was taught to hunt and finds her first attempts at catching meals on her own, even small warthogs and especially rhinos and buffaloes, unsuccessful. She learns that there are benefits in belonging to a pride.
Soon the wildebeest return, and the lionesses begin to hunt for their new cubs – Kali′s offspring. Mara successfully hunts and feasts. Soon after, she proves herself to the pride and is welcomed back. Meanwhile, Sita′s cubs, now young adults, have been thriving once more. Sita prepares her cubs by teaching them to hunt. They practice on a serval and a golden jackal. Afterwards, they encounter hyenas then Kali′s pride, and learn to stand up to hyenas like a true brave cheetah does, and to avoid and outrun lions (instead of hunting them!). Sita, seeing that her cubs are now ready to forge their own path, leaves them and returns to the solitary life of a cheetah.
At the end of the film, the narrator (Samuel L. Jackson/Patrick Stewart) shows Mara and Sita′s cubs as the finest examples of a mother′s love.
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