Duma (2005)

-Caution, spoilers.-

Xan and his father raise a lost cheetah from a cub after they find him on the road one night. They name him Duma, Swahili for cheetah. When Xan’s dad dies, Xan crosses the entire country on foot to return Duma to his original habitat, something he and his father had planned to do together.

This movie was stupid. It was so saccharine that even a child would have trouble buying into it. And don’t even get me started on the fact that it was set somewhere in Africa, yet we only see black people living out in the wilderness in a village, and nowhere in the suspiciously pristine city we briefly visit along the way. Not to mention the fact that an eleven year old tiny white kid is supposed to have driven a motorcycle across the desert, wandered through the freaking veldt and into the jungle completely unscathed by the many wild animals he encounters along the way.

Sure, there was some nice scenery in this movie. And a ridiculously well trained actual adult cheetah plays Duma, who interacts casually and sweetly with Xan throughout. (A fascinating curiosity, though I feel a teensy bit unethical about enjoying watching this wild animal roll around like a dog and eat lunchmeat out of the kid's hand.)

But seriously. If you feel compelled to watch it just for the cheetah, put it on mute. Movies made for children don’t have to be this simplistic, unrealistic, and predictable.


In other news:
Going to see Where The Wild Things Are tonight!