Cheetah

Review

Common Sense Media says

Disney live-action adventure with a few perilous moments.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

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Kids say

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this Disney family adventure from the '80s features some bad guys who capture a beloved cheetah pet, put her in a cage, and starve her. Poachers hang animal skins around their dwellings -- proof of their deadly deeds. Kids are kind-hearted, but make some questionable choices to protect their pet, though everything turns out well in the end.

  • Educational value2
    Introduction to some Swahili words, Masai culture, animal habitat, and life in Africa.
  • Positive messages0
    Lessons of loyalty and love abound here. Teddy and Susan risk a lot to save their pet cheetah, Duma. But these risks include lying and putting themselves and their friend in danger. Slight ethnic stereotyping of Indian shop-owners as greedy.
  • Positive role models2
    Adults are either smart and supportive or scheming and bad. It's pretty easy to discern which are which, though. The kids are loyal, kind, and good-hearted, though they sometimes lie and take risks for their cause.
  • Violence & scariness1
    Several perilous moments like being chased by an elephant. A tribesman threatens another man with a spear. No blood. Kids are captured and put in a cage, but their friend frees them.
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What's the story?

Teddy (Keith Coogan) and Susan (Lucy Deakins) join their parents in Kenya, where they are on a work assignment. Their parents expect the kids to miss their home in Los Angeles so badly that they will want to go home immediately. But the opposite proves to be true, especially when they meet Morogo (Colin Mothupi) a "tribal" boy who lives in the next village. Together they explore the wild surroundings and bring home a baby cheetah, whom they tame and call Duma. But when poachers get a whiff of Duma's domestication, they capture her and try to exploit her running ability in a race. Can Teddy and Susan save her before she is taken away forever?

Is it any good?

 

It's refreshing to see teenagers portrayed as being hungry for adventure and excited to be in a new environment. Life in tribal Africa has been pretty simplified here, but there are touches of truth in this tale, where culture clashes are concerned. Morogo's parents are not crazy about their son getting mixed up in the visiting American's drama. For good reason too -- Teddy and Susan put Morogo in harm's way.

Animal lovers will enjoy seeing all of the herds and flocks at play here. Cheetah lovers will cherish seeing Duma run and play and purr with her human friends. There is a happy ending to this story, which is a relief, once one realizes that the skins on the poacher's walls came from living, thriving animals of the wild.

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What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about what poaching is and how it affects wildlife. What dangers do animals like Duma really face?

  • Talk about the differences in the lives of the American kids and Morogo. How would Morogo's life be different if he lived in Los Angeles? How would the American kids handle living Morogo's life? What kinds of things change for Teddy and Susan when they arrive in Kenya?

This review was written by Joly Herman

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This review was written by Joly Herman
Topics:adventures, wild animals
Studio:Buena Vista
Director:Jeff Blyth
Cast:Colin Mothupi, Keith Coogan, Lucy Deakins
Genre:Family and Kids
Run time:83 minutes
Theatrical release date:August 18, 1988
DVD release date:May 21, 2002
MPAA rating:G
This review was written by Joly Herman
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.
Our child development rating guidelines

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