Customer Reviews

Leopard Son [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Starting when the leopard son is just a child, this story is told as a ducmentary, but it has a wonderful, touching dramatic angle. It is a heart-warming story which will make you sit down and think about many things, especially about the relationship with your own parents.

The Leopard Son is a spectacularly well executed film. Yes, indeed, the director does edit the footage so as to support a human-like narrative. So what. Contrary to the patronizing tone of a couple of these reviews, no one with even half a brain will believe that the leopard son woke up ond day and said "Well, I guess I'll go see how mom is doing." The footage of the African savannah alone is worth the watching, to say nothing of the various footage of lions.

The real-life answer to the gushy, cutesy, incredibly over-anthropomorphised "The Lion King". This is a stunningly photographed documentary recording the growth to adulthood of a leopard cub. Its wonderful musical score adds immeasurably. This is a work of art.

This is great children's fare for any parent that is not too squeamish to admit that carnivores eat real animals, that meat is muscle that once belonged to a critter like us, and that other animals have a different but valid social structure and value system of their own. Our 3-year-old loves this movie, as do the rest of the family.

I first saw this movie from a library loan. Afterwards, I checked out the video several times because it was a really good, relaxing nature movie to watch. Then I decided I wanted this video to put in my personal library so someday, my children could watch it. When I tried to buy it, I couldn't find it anywhere. Thankfully to God, I found it here on the Amazon website and was able to buy it New and under $5 (including Shipping and handling) from aokmovies2 who (when I called them) said they had over 40 more copies! So, after getting my first video from them in just a few days time, today, I've ordered another one from them! (One to keep as a master copy and one to use as a regular viewing copy.) I want to expand my personal library with a lot of wholesome movies and this nature video on leopards is a GREAT addition! You will enjoy it very much!!!

If you like Animal Planet, you're a sucker for this tale. It is quite remarkable in story, as well as the amazing closeups of leopards in all sorts of activities. An unvarnished, straightforward telling, I think it should be fascinating to all age groups, even quite young children.

Many viewers who recognize the risks of embracing this kind of animal documentary will warn others not to view it. It's important to recognize, however, that any nature documentary imposes a biased, human perspective on the natural world. How can we avoid it? We can't, and we shouldn't. Just know that there are different approaches to storytelling, and embrace as many as you can to learn as much as you are able. Nothing replaces first-hand experience. The Leopard Son is a work of art and entertainment that pushes the boundaries of nature documentary. I too, have my doubts about narrator's understanding of what motivates the leopards, but it's a darn good movie with top-notch music by Stewart Copeland; I think it will do more to stimulate curiosity than to diminish appreciation of nature and wildlfe.

For a while, this movie played on television a lot, and my husband and I watched it every time. It's such a nicely told tale from start to finish that it's a great favorite with us. (We even named our cat "The Leopard Son"!) Though it's a nature documentary, the title animal in the movie is a goofy young leopard with a really engaging personality, making it a real story, too. The narration and filming are wonderful. We can't wait to introduce The Leopard Son to our own young son.

This film had some decent cinematography, but it was edited in such a way as to create a contrived story that has little or no similarity to an actual leopard's life. The narration mythicalizes the leopard's existence, and the story revloves around comparing the leopard's journey through life to that of human maturation.

By portraying non-human life as somthing that is human, filmmakers patronize the organism(s) that are being represented. This film, pitched as a "real-life lion king", is a poor example of Natural History film. Those who wish to appreciate and respect leopards and other forms of non-human life that are represented through film and video should avoid this film. It merely provides a cozy narrative within which humans can "identify" with the leopard; simplifiying its existence so that it is easily consumed by viewers who want a happy story.