Cheetah (1989 Film)

''Cheetah'', also known as ''Cheetah and Friends'', is a 1989 American family drama film from Walt Disney Pictures starring Keith Coogan and Lucy Deakins. This motion picture was loosely based on Alan Caillou's novel ''The Cheetahs''. It was shot in Nairobi, Kenya. This motion picture features the phrase "Hakuna matata" which became famous when Disney released ''The Lion King'' five years later.

It was first screened alongside a re-issue of the 1948 animated short, '' Mickey and the Seal''.

Plot

Los Angeles siblings Ted and Susan Johnson join their parents in Kenya where their father, Earl, works at a NASA tracking station, and their mother, Jean, works at a clinic. Ted's dreams of roughing it on the Savannah are squashed when their mother leads him into a house that looks like it belongs in Pasadena, California. Although she forbids her children to explore, Ted and Susan sneak out to a nearby watering hole, where they meet a friendly Masai boy named Morogo. Morogo shows the siblings the wildlife of Kenya and they teach him how to play video games. One day, their mother comes home to discover Morogo in her home and they convince their parents that Morogo will keep them safe, which their parents reluctantly agree.

One day, after the trio play soccer and Morogo retrieves the ball from a sleeping rhino, Morogo's father, Kipoin scolds him for neglecting his goat herding duties and Morogo says that he will take care of his duties, but he has been learning new stuff from his friends, to which he detests about his new friends, because they are different. Later, the trio comes across a cheetah cub whose mother has been killed by a poacher. Susan insists they take the cub home as it's the only way for her to survive and their parents reluctantly decide to keep her, where she becomes the household pet. Six months later, however, the Johnson family convince the children to free Duma and train her to hunt according to the advice of an Australian game warden named Larry before their vacation is over.

Meanwhile, an Indian storekeeper named B. Patel (who had unsuccessfully tried to buy Duma) hires an opportunistic Englishman named Nigel and a ruthless poacher named Abdullah, who are planning to make a fortune out of Duma by exploiting her speed in a prolific sport of racing against greyhounds. The night before Ted and Susan are to leave Africa, Patel breaks into the house to steal Ted's whistle and the three gamblers manage to capture Duma. The next morning, the family say goodbye to Morogo and stop at Patel's store. Patel accidentally reveals his whereabouts to Ted, who notices that a pattern on Abdullah's shoes resembles the shoe marks that he discovered when they adopted Duma, leading him to realize that Abdullah was the poacher who killed Duma's mother. Ted tries to convince his parents about Patel's conspiracy, to no avail. The two teenagers delay their flight after sending a telegram to their grandmother and learn Patel's whereabouts from his cousin that he is working in a camp in Jamhuri. The children convince Morogo to save Duma, but he fears that he can't go and gives them directions to Jamhuri. The next morning, Morogo sneaks away as well and joins the two teenagers in their quest to rescue Duma.

However, Morogo's parents have learned about their disappearances and inform the Johnson parents. Earl calls his mother and she informs him about the telegram the siblings sent to her. The parents call the police and their wives insist on heading out to find the children themselves. Meanwhile, the children arrive at the camp and sneak in at nightfall. They manage to find Duma, but are captured by the poachers and locked in a cage. While the poachers leave for the race, Morogo sneaks into the compound and manages to free the pair from their confinement before they head off to Nairobi.

During the journey, the trio are caught by a policeman roaming the roads for them. The trio trick the officer into letting them use the bathroom at a nearby gas station and they manage to escape. With the help of a sheep farmer, the trio manage to reach Nairobi and arrive at the racetrack in time to hear the cheetah-greyhound race being announced. In the race, Duma has now been overtaken by greyhounds, with greater resistance (as predicted by Patel, who had given up losing in bets). Ted grabs his whistle from a security guard and blows it, allowing Duma to regain her burst of speed and win. While the other gamblers must compensate all bets, Duma rebels against Abdullah and attacks him until she is rescued by Earl. While both sets of parents berate their children for leaving them, the poacher is arrested.

The families arrive at Cheetah Valley to release Duma and they spot another cheetah. Ted refuses to extend their parents' proposal for the holiday and they try to release Duma, but the cheetah stubbornly refuses to leave until Susan manages to convince her to leave. The children quote a Kenyan adage by Morogo "Though we are far apart, our spirits share the same earth and the same sky" as they happily watch Duma and her newfound friend frolicking.

Cast

* Keith Coogan as Ted Johnson
* Lucy Deakins as Susan Johnson
* Collin Mothupi as Morogo
* Joe Herrington as Duma (vocalizations)
* Timothy Landfield as Earl Johnson
* Breon Gorman-Landfield as Jean Johnson
* Mhlangabezi Ka Vundla as Kipoin
* Lydia Kigada as Lani
* Kuldeep Bhakoo as Mr. Patel
* Paul Onsongo as Abdullah
* Anthony Baird as Nigel
* Rory McGuinness as Larry
* Rod Jacobsen as David
* David Adido as Mwangi
* Konga Mbandu as Police Captain
* Martin Okello as Friendly Policeman
* Allaudin Qureshi as Patel's Cousin
* William Tsuma as Cabbie
* Waigwa Wachira as Racetrack Policeman
* Jim Ward as Announcer
* Jan MacCoy as Stewardess
* Evalyne Kamau as Nyambura
* Jane Gelardi as Announcer's Girlfriend
* 'J.J.' Joseph Otieno Adamson as Blue Duka Band Member 1
* David Otieno as Blue Duka Band Member 2
* Wally Amalemba as Blue Duka Band Member 3
* Tony Evans Kalanzi as Blue Duka Band Member 4
* Kelly Harry Ngetsa as Blue Duka Band Member 5
* Thomas Akare as Bettor 1
* Denis Doughty as Bettor 2
* Siddik Ebrahim as Bettor 3
* Lee Harvin as Bettor 4
* Aloysius Lazarus as Greyhound Owner 1
* Njoroge Ngoima as Greyhound Owner 2
* Frank Turner as Greyhound Owner 3
* Richard Clarke as Announcer (voice)
* Michael Rogers as Racetrack Policeman (voice)

See also

* ''Born Free'' (1966)
* '' A Far Off Place'' (1993)
* ''Duma'' (2005)
* '' The Last Lions'' (2011)
* ''African Cats'' (2011)

References

External links

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* {{Rotten Tomatoes, cheetah

1989 films
1989 children's films
1989 crime drama films
American children's films
American drama films
Films based on British novels
Films set in Kenya
Films shot in Kenya
Walt Disney Pictures films
1989 directorial debut films
Films about cheetahs
Films about siblings
Films produced by Roy E. Disney
Films scored by Bruce Rowland
1980s English-language films
1980s American films
English-language crime drama films