The Last Lions

Not to be confused with The Last Lion (film).

The Last Lions
Film poster
Directed by	Dereck Joubert
Narrated by	Jeremy Irons
Music by	Alex Wurman
Production company	National Geographic Films
Distributed by	Virgil Films
Release date	January 13, 2011 (2011-01-13) (Palm Springs Film Festival)
Running time	88 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Last Lions is a 2011 African nature documentary film by National Geographic Society, videotaped and directed by Dereck and Beverly Joubert. It was shot in Botswana's Okavango Delta. The film premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January 2011^[1] and was released in select theaters the following month on February 18.^[2][3] The film follows in the tradition of other National Geographic big cat films, such as India: Land of the Tiger and Eye of the Leopard.

The film documentary focuses on a lioness named Ma di Tau ("Mother of Lions") as she battles to protect her cubs against the daunting onslaught of enemies to ensure their survival. The underlying message of the film is on the low population of large cats in the world and whether or not Ma di Tau and her cubs are among the last lions.^{[4][failed verification]} The film is narrated by Jeremy Irons, who voiced Scar in Disney's 1994 animated film The Lion King.^[1] Irons also narrated Eye of the Leopard, a 2006 National Geographic film.^[5]

Four years earlier, National Geographic released Super Pride, which was narrated by Lance Lewman. Disneynature released African Cats, a similar documentary film in April 2011.

Roar: Lions of the Kalahari, another National Geographic film about lions was released, but later it was re-released as Lions 3D: Roar of the Kalahari and the film was narrated by James Garrett.

Reception

Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 87% of 38 professional critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.3 out of 10.

References

1. "The Last Lions | 2011 Palm Springs Int'l Film Festival | Dereck Joubert | USA". psfilmfest.org. Archived from the original on January 22, 2011. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
2. Palatucci, Giovanna (December 6, 2010). "The Last Lions". National Geographic. Archived from the original on December 10, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
3. "The Last Lions - Official Movie Site - National Geographic Movies". Movies.nationalgeographic.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2010. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
4. Joubert, Dereck (October 13, 2009). "Saving the Last Lions". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
5. "Across the Roof of Africa - Credits - National Geographic Channel- National Geographic Channel". Channel.nationalgeographic.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved January 29, 2011.

External links

• The Last Lions, official website
• The Last Lions at IMDb
• The Last Lions, NPR, March 2, 2011
• The Last Lions, Radio France Internationale, February 2, 2012
• Lions Documentary, YouTube