'African Cats' is a tale of two kitties

As a way of introducing children to the brutality of life with a minimum of bloodshed, Disneynature's "African Cats" works quite nicely. Its cameras never linger too long on the final moments of the prey du jour, though neither does it pretend that the savanna is a theme park.

Its heroines are Sita the cheetah and Layla the lion, mothers separated by the Mara River but also by what in human terms looks almost like a class divide. Sita is a single mother with five cubs and no nearby family. Layla is raising only one cub, Mara, with the support network of a large pride.

Still, this ain't the suburbs. A kick from a fleeing zebra -- seen in eye-watering slow-motion -- leaves Layla lying in the dust and unable to keep pace with her migrating family. There's another problem: Kali, a black-maned invader, has his eyes on the pride. If Layla had a lock, she would lock up her daughter. Instead, she employs a more sophisticated and impressive strategy.

Meanwhile, Sita and her brood must dodge gangs of sadistically giggling hyenas and even her own kind. Her main goal (besides survival) is to teach her offspring to hunt, and the film's most mesmerizing sequences are of these four-legged Porsches speeding through the brush.

Directed by the British documentary team of Keith Scholey and Alastair Fothergill, and narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, "African Cats" doesn't offer many details about its subjects, which leaves the movie feeling less than fully educational. Tender children, however, might find it just about eye-opening enough.