Anybody who has a fascination with lions should definitely consider seeing 'The African Lion', especially if you have seen other documentaries primarily focused upon lions (i.e. 2011's 'The Last Lions') or featuring them (most episodes of documentary series that focus upon the wildlife of African habitats). Also if nature documentaries and Disney are your cup of tea, they certainly are mine, and if you want to see what older nature documentaries were like.

Having really liked the previous two True Life Adventures feature films 'The Living Desert' and 'The Vanishing Prairie', and taking all the above into account, expectations were high. And they were definitely met, as was the case with pretty much all the True Life Adventures series, feature films and short subjects (with only 'White Wilderness', which still had a huge amount to recommend, disappointing a little). It is not the definitive documentary on lions or one of the best of this particular series, but 'The African Lion' is incredibly well made and interesting and holds up very well.

'The African Lion' isn't perfect. The True Life Adventures feature films, oddly enough the short subject films didn't have this problem, did have the common problem of having some too cute and too jokey moments. 'The African Lion' is no exception, especially with the birds and the hippos. Some of the jokiness was again a bit forced and not needed.

On the other hand, a huge amount is done right and outweighs what could have been done better. 'The African Lion' looks great, the colour photography is so vivid in colour and never static. Showing the majestic scenery, both beautiful and uncompromising, in all its glory. Really liked the music on the whole, which was a mix of grand and catchy even if it occasionally over-emphasised the humorous moments. The animals, wonderfully varied, are a mix of adorable, sinister and fun to watch.

Moreover, the cubs are so playful and cute and the mother's love was very touching to watch. The hunting does thrill and doesn't get dumbed down. The material is familiar, ground-breaking actually back then but if you have seen similar footage or similar themes in documentaries made in the past forty or so minutes it's recognisable, but it doesn't feel tired. One of my favourite scenes of the True Life Adventures series is the jaw dropping locust blizzard, that is the closest the series gets to the sensation of "wonder at how this was filmed". Winston Hibler's delivery was not an issue to me, nicely deadpan at times but also always good natured.

Very good on the whole. 8/10.

It's an early Disney nature documentary as part of the award winning series True-Life Adventures. The opening text declares that this was three years in the making. This looks at the animals of the mysterious interior African lands. It starts at Mount Kilimanjaro. It's not only the Lions, the king of beasts. It's also giraffes, elephants, baboons, hippos, ostriches, wildebeests, and many other animals. The lions do return from time to time. It ends with a plague of locusts.

There is no denying the beauty of these animals and Disney is there to capture it. The cinematography is great especially considering the era. Nature docs don't take another giant leap until the days of HD. The most questionable narration is the little bird cleaning up the hippos. The narrator claims that it's pulling out hairs or eyelashes as beauty treatments but that may be done with tongue fully in cheek. The pictures are so beautiful and the nature is so epic. Any complaints are minor in comparison.

I saw this documentary in 1960 at age 11 and never forgot it. It was very well done. It is wonderful. I watched with my father who is gone for 28 years. I was so impressed with the beauty of the species that spent collecting everything I could about animals. The scenes are beautifully shot and encourage children to like and, of course, preserve animal life. Fantastic, wonderful. Just the initial presentation of the documentary to paint the map of Africa and its different regions, it is a lesson in Geography.In the following years despite developments in technology not seen documentaries that level which makes it even more valuable. It is an example of a job well done.Unfortunate not copy for sale there.