The White Lion - DVD

Film: The traditions of the Shangaan people say that a white lion is a messenger of the gods and must therefore be protected at all costs. When a white lion is indeed born in the form of little Letsatsi, young Gisani (Thabo Malema) makes it his mission to protect the animal from all dangers. And that's necessary: because when Letsatsi is cast out by his pride, because as a white lion he looks completely different from the rest of his pride, he is now left to fend for himself. And with a trophy hunter targeting the rare animal, it's a good thing that the now-grown Gisani (John Kani) puts all his courage and strength into protecting the animal he considers sacred.

The White Lion is a fascinating animal film, reminiscent in its best moments of The Bear or Two Brothers by Jean-Jaques Annaud. Director Michael Swan and his team have captured some beautiful images and the moments with the two lion cubs in particular have an extremely high cuteness factor. On a positive note, the makers have avoided humanizing the animals too much. Sure, here and there they lay it on a bit thick for the sake of the dramaturgy. But especially as far as the relationship between Letsatsi and Gisani is concerned, the whole thing could have turned out a lot more cheesy and, above all, unrealistic.

That this doesn't happen has been taken care of by producer Kevin Richardson. Richardson has become known as a lion whisperer, living and working on a reserve in South Africa. The welfare of the animals, whether in the wild or in front of the camera, is of course his first priority, which is why he was also concerned to let the lions in the film behave as naturally as possible. After all, even though Richardson has formed close bonds with many animals, he knows that lions will always be wild animals and that a true friendship between lion and man is not really possible. The fact that the film therefore keeps Letsatsi and Gisani at a respectful distance from each other at all times can definitely be credited to the makers.

While just the first half of the film can inspire with beautiful images, the second half falls dramaturgically a little. In itself, the animal shots and the picturesque landscape would have been enough to offer beautiful and gripping family entertainment. The human protagonists just can't keep up and therefore seem a bit superfluous. But on balance, the positives outweigh the negatives, so The White Lion can be warmly recommended to all lovers of beautifully made animal films. Worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: Since only a data-reduced press sample was available for the test, no rating can be given about the final picture and sound quality at this point. However, just the picture already makes a very good impression in the somewhat reduced form, which lets us hope for just such a conversion in the final purchase variant.

Extras: Also the bonus material could not be tested on the press screener. Announced are a making of, a portrait of the lion whisperer Kevin Richardson, a photo gallery and trailers.

Conclusion: The White Lion is a very beautiful animal film, whose great images comfort over the somewhat thin story. If you like movies like Two Brothers, you shouldn't miss this enchantingly filmed animal adventure. Recommended

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp