Joy Adamson and her husband, George, live in Kenya, where George is a game warden. When a lion is reported to be killing villagers, George tracks and kills it, orphaning three cubs in the process. To Joy's delight, George brings the cubs home. Joy feeds them with bottled formula, taking care of them like they're her own children. Elsa, her favorite lioness, is like a big puppy, and goes everywhere with Joy, riding on top of her jeep like the Queen of the Jungle. When the lion cubs are full-grown, they have to be sent to a zoo. Joy tries to keep Elsa as a pet until she causes an elephant stampede. Rather than send Elsa to a zoo, she trains her to live in the wild. Un-domesticating Elsa is difficult, but the Adamsons succeed. Once free, Elsa comes back to visit periodically, bringing her own cubs along.

Joy Adamson's bestselling book, Born Free, spawned several films and a television series. This one is the first, and best, of the bunch. Adamson's relationship with Elsa the lioness is captivating from start to finish, and the question of whether a domesticated animal can be returned to the wild is compelling. When the Adamsons first meet young Elsa and her siblings, they're irresistibly big-eyed bundles of fluff. But the adult Elsa is a different kind of beast -- headstrong and stubborn. Growing up underfoot in the Adamson household, Elsa is treated like an overgrown house-pet, and she's often quite funny.

BORN FREE feels authentic; the relationship between Joy and Elsa is developed so well that the film often feels like a documentary. Other scenes of animals in their habitats are thrilling. Although the elephant stampede is a little scary, it's followed by a lighthearted sequence featuring Elsa herding an adorable baby elephant. A 9-year-old viewer was initially reluctant to watch, claiming he didn't like "old" movies, but after one glimpse of the cubs he was hooked. It's hard to watch Joy return Elsa to the wild -- as viewers, we grow as almost attached to the lion as Joy is.