Duma (2005)

I hadn't heard of this family drama when it was new. Only the poster displayed on Netflix drew my attention to it: a cheetah wearing a knit cap. (That happens in only one scene.) Further research indicated a fair amount of popularity, at least among those who've seen it, so I obliged. If nothing else, I could enjoy footage of one of the coolest big cat species.

Based loosely on a nonfiction book, the story begins with cheetah cubs getting orphaned by lions. One cub (try not to fret about the other two) wanders to a road, whereupon a rural South African human family rescues him. They raise "Duma" until he's old enough to fend for himself, but before they can return him to the wild, the family father passes away (not much of a surprise given his bouts of sickness), requiring them to move to Johannesburg so the mother can find work. As if to challenge the drama classification, they take Duma with them, which doesn't take long to look like a bad idea. Main boy Xan, circa age 12, sees only one way to save Duma from getting shot: make a hasty, unannounced retreat by motorcycle and sidecar to a distant plain, equipped with little more than a water bottle.

Lest you think the rest is mainly just the two of them on a multi-day trek, they do meet Ripkuna, a native man on his own secret trek. He's a suspicious character and not immediately on friendly terms with Xan, but they do help each other survive many perils in nature. Rip also brings a live bushbaby along, ostensibly for eating in desperation, but "Busha" doesn't do anything more important than be adorable.

This is about as close to a live-action PG Disney movie as Warner Bros. gets. I attribute that to director Carroll Ballard of Fly Away Home semi-fame. His short filmography focuses heavily on real-life love of animals, walking the line of acceptable sappiness.

The most impressive thing about the film is the work done with dangerous creatures. The makers used some animatronics but not a whole lot; that's clearly a prepubescent kid interacting closely with a cheetah. Actually, the credits indicate five adult cheetahs playing Duma, in addition to one cub. I guess it's not a great exaggeration to claim that humans could spend that long with a cheetah and not get badly hurt. (All other potentially deadly real animals do not appear on screen with humans.)

Naturally, I also consider Duma the most entertaining aspect of the film. He outruns the motorcycle and can act fierce as the situation demands, but mostly he seems a fuzzy sweetie. And I had no idea how cute cheetah calls sounded, even in adulthood. I can almost see myself making the same questionable decisions as Xan and family.

Younger children might have a little difficulty parsing the accents, but they won't miss much when the plot's so simple. Older viewers may wish for a little less predictability. Nevertheless, Duma makes an easy and rather pleasant way to kill 100 minutes.