A waste.

I appreciate the darker story tone that 'Napoleon and Samantha' attempts to provide, sadly none of it really sticks and it comes out as a slow paced, dull would-be adventure.

The cast features two very familiar names - Michael Douglas and Jodie Foster. The latter doesn't have much to do, while Douglas plays an oddly written character. Johnny Whitaker, fresh off the lovely 'The Biscuit Eater', is alright. Will Geer's role has a lot of heart, if not much else.

They try to cram so many different elements into this, to the point it feels overcrowded and unrefined. There's a lion in the film, for practically no reason whatsoever. As well as unexplored plot lines and characters. Without wanting to give anything away, it's all very uneven.

A cool and intriguing concept, just not fulfilled one bit. Disappointing.

Napoleon gets into mischief with his friend Samantha (Jodie Foster). They steal empty bottles and resell them to the store owner for candy. He lives with his grandpa. Her parents are away and she lives with Gertrude. Napoleon and grandpa encounter Dimetri the Clown with Major the Lion. Dimetri is going home to Europe and has to leave Major behind. The lion is old with bad teeth and can only drink milk. Napoleon and grandpa adopt Major putting him in with the chickens. Grandpa passes away. Danny (Michael Douglas) is a student traveling through the area looking for work. Napoleon hires him to bury grandpa. Napoleon claims to be waiting for his uncle while Danny sets off for a goat herding job. Fearing the orphanage, Napoleon sets off with Major to find and stay with Danny. Samantha joins him with her prized rooster. When the kids get there, Danny goes back to tell Gertrude and she promptly has him arrested. At the police station, he sees that he left the kids with Mark Pierson who is actually a wanted criminal.

I checked this out for Jodie Foster and Michael Douglas. Damn, Jodie was just a kid and it's sad to read that she was mauled by one of the lions. The kids are cute and charming. There are a lot of darker elements in this kids movie. The locals are a little too much of bumpkins. The most compelling aspect is the two kids on the journey with the lion. That's a small part of the movie. It's an odd little Disney adventure.

Determined boy runs away from his rural community rather than risk being placed in an orphanage, taking along his pet lion and little girlfriend for a journey through rugged terrain. Family film from Disney with nature-adventure asides never really gets going--mostly due to that sleepy lion, ambling through the picture as if drugged. The kids (talented Johnny Whitaker from "Family Affair" and wise-talking Jodie Foster in her first film role) are both good, even though they occasionally struggle with their delivery. Michael Douglas has fine, if colorless, supporting role as a well-meaning hippie-type who comes to their rescue. Younger children might enjoy it. ** from ****