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Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins
 
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Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins (2008)

Series: Meerkat Manor Rating: NR (Not Rated) Format: DVD
2.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

List Price: $19.98
Price: $8.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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52 new from $2.93 17 used from $2.93

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Frequently Bought Together

Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins + Meerkat Manor - Season 1 + Meerkat Manor, Season 3
Total List Price: $69.88
Price For All Three: $41.97

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  • This item: Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins DVD ~ Whoopi Goldberg

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  • Meerkat Manor - Season 1 DVD ~ Flower the Meerkat

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    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Meerkat Manor, Season 3 DVD ~ Meerkat Manor

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins
53% buy the item featured on this page:
Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins 2.3 out of 5 stars (14)
$8.99
Meerkat Manor - Season 1
20% buy
Meerkat Manor - Season 1 3.6 out of 5 stars (11)
$16.49
Meerkat Manor, Season 2
12% buy
Meerkat Manor, Season 2 4.8 out of 5 stars (5)
$15.99
Meerkat Manor, Season 3
9% buy
Meerkat Manor, Season 3 5.0 out of 5 stars (3)
$16.49

Product Details

  • Actors: Whoopi Goldberg
  • Directors: Mike Slee;Chris Barker
  • Format: Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
  • Language: English
  • Subtitles: English, Spanish
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rating: NR (Not Rated)
  • Studio: The Weinstein Company
  • DVD Release Date: June 3, 2008
  • Run Time: 75 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0017LGQHM
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,351 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #5 in  Movies & TV > Television > Funny Families > Meerkat Manor
    #6 in  Movies & TV > Television > Discovery Channel > Subjects > Animals
    #6 in  Movies & TV > Television > Discovery Channel > Channels > Animal Planet

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Popping Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins into the DVD player and pressing play seems like a guaranteed win-win, and ultimately it is, but oddly enough Whoopi Goldberg's narration detracts from some other wonderful things happening in this feature film. Based on the television series narrated by Sean Astin, this elaborate story of the Whiskers clan crossing the "Great Divide" (the highway) to look for alternate territory is sweet and funny, thanks to the meerkats rather than the sometimes sappy script. In it, Flower is born into a charismatic litter, including Petal, Thumper, and Hazel, who reveal wilderness to be a dangerous place. As Flower witnesses repeated Whisker clan hardships, including battles with various impressive predators, Flower grows into the natural leader that she eventually becomes. Over the course of the story, one meets several matriarchs, both of the Whiskers clan and of their warring tribe, the Lazuli gang. At times, the narration is spot-on, while at other times Goldberg's narration teeters confusingly between documentary and fantasy, between adult and child humor. Not to say there is anything inappropriate here for kids. In fact, one of the films' best attributes is its ability to show death as an integrated part of the life cycle. Additionally, it is a pleasure to witness meerkats at close range, especially during several clan battles set underground. (Baby meerkats abound throughout, making for footage that is quite irresistible!) Told as a folk tale about animals and land who "share secrets every day," Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins may not be Milo & Otis or Babe, but I'll take baby meerkats any day. --Trinie Dalton

Product Description
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.

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Meerkat Manor: Flower of the Kalahari

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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (6)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.3 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars For Flower, May 27, 2008
By Gunner (Bethlehem,Georgia) - See all my reviews
  
Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins DVD


This movie is a tribute to Flower, the matriarch of the Whiskers clan of meerkats in the Kalahari Desert. It follows Flower from the time she was just a pup until she becomes the Matriarch of the whiskers Clan.

If you enjoy Meerkat Manor on Animal Planet, you have to get this movie. I agree that Sean Astin, the regular narrator, would have done a better job narrating than Whoopi.
Highly recommended for fans of Flower, and Meerkat Manor the series.

Gunner May, 2008
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Whoopi is Awful, May 25, 2008
I love Meerkat Manor and I really like Whoopi Goldberg, but she is really awful as the narrator of this film. She mumbles through the whole thing and is often indecipherable. We're essentially watching a nature show, and Whoopi keeps deadpanning jokes and stumbling through the lines in an unnatural way. They should have just kept the same narrator as from the regular show.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Not so bad., June 29, 2008
By The Linea Alba (Meteor Falls, Hoenn) - See all my reviews
In my opinion, the movie really isn't as bad as everyone says; I've got one problem with it, and that is the actual footage of the Meerkats shown in the movie are just random Meerkats that basically happened to 'do what the film crew wanted them to,' and when they did, they edited the tape together to give us the movie. If the movie was actually filmed like the Meerkat Manor series in which the actual named Meerkats are being filmed in their lives, then the movie would have been much more pleasing.

Whoopi's narrative is a bit different from what viewers may be used to, but I think she adds something 'special' and different for the movie, since the movie IS a bit different from the series. It's a good 'prequel' to the series for someone who has never seen it.

I still favour the series over the movie, but the movie is still worth seeing if you love meerkats and are open-minded to a different narrator.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed
Whoopie Goldberg's presence overwhelms this movie and takes away from the Meerkats. Skip this movie. I LOVE the Meerkats, but this was not good.
Published 4 months ago by Janice

3.0 out of 5 stars Flower's blossoming
I agree with the other reviewers -- Sean Astin's narration is preferable to Whoopi Goldberg's. But who really watches "Meerkat Manor" for the narration, anyway? Read more
Published 5 months ago by Jenny J.

1.0 out of 5 stars Not Factial!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was very excited to see this movie. I was EXTREMELY dissapointed.A lot of what the movie said and showed simply wasn`t true! Read more
Published 10 months ago

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing: Not What It's Cracked Up to Be
Weak script, not enough real film footage and detail about Flower, skims and skips too much, not satisfying. Not like the TV show of Meerkat Manor. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Sharon Conaway

1.0 out of 5 stars Meerkat Manor For Dummies
That should have been the title of this fiasco. Personally Flower was never my favorite meerkat, i always found her cold and harsh,but that is not the problem here. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Elle-P

5.0 out of 5 stars For Flower
This sweet little film is a tribute to Flower, the beloved Mama Meerkat who died during the filming of the third season. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Daisy Brambletoes

1.0 out of 5 stars Where's Hannibal when you need him?
SO IT'S NOT ENOUGH that we lost Flower and Mozart in season three, the show's producer, Carolyn Hawkins had to take Sean Astin from us, too. Read more
Published 13 months ago by K. Reynolds

1.0 out of 5 stars Sean, Come Home!
I am completely addicted to the series, but I can't get all the way through it, either. The narration is indecipherable, passionless and, well, just awful. Read more
Published 13 months ago by cb56

3.0 out of 5 stars Hiring Narrator Whoopi Goldberg was a big mistake
I'm sure these Meerkats are not Flower, her mother and siblings, but the film was OK for Flower lovers. I miss Sean, the narrator from last year. I hope he narrates the series.
Published 13 months ago by Red Hat HDR

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
This movie is not a tribute to Flower. It is not even factual. I highly recommend getting the book Meerkat Manor: Flower of the Kalahari by Tim Clutton-Brock. Read more
Published 13 months ago by L. GOUDREAU

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