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by Dave Haber, Wizard News Wizard

Two stars from the Harry Potter movies and one from Lord of the Rings are featured in a new DVD now available from the BBC and Warner Home Video.

Pride is a live-action family film, set against the visually stunning backdrop of East Africa. The animals are real, but we can hear what they're saying thanks to some pretty neat Hollywood magic.

Robbie Coltrane, Hogwarts Grounds Keeper Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies, plays James, who is one of the two older lions in the pride that the film follows through most of the story. The pride is threatened by two lions from across the river, who they call the Wanderers. One of the Wanderers, Dark, is played by Sean Bean, who played Boromir in the Lord of the Rings movies. The other Wanderer, Harry, is played by John Hurt, who was Mr. Olivander, the master wand maker in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Pride also stars the voices of Helen Mirren as mama lion Macheeba, and Kate Winslet and Rupert Graves as Suki and Linus, a precocious pair of lion cubs who continually get in and out of trouble despite the dangers surrounding them.

Accepting the traditions of family life can sometimes prove too much for a mischievous young lion cub like Suki. But on the whole, growing up in the Serengeti is good, and it seems nothing can disturb the harmony of her peaceful pride. Then tragedy strikes, and it tests her courage and exposes the laws and forces of nature in her struggle to survive. Families are threatened, new alliances are formed. It is an interesting look at growing up, learning about family and responsibility, trusting and friendship.

The new DVD includes over 90 minutes of extras, including "Pride: Talking with Lions", the making of feature narrated by the actor who was the voice of Linus in the movie, and "Lions: Spy in the Den", a fascinating look into the wildlife of the Serengeti.

Seamless digital compositing provides a fascinating portrayal that is fun and engaging for adults, and yet compelling and educational for children. It's a wild ride, and although there's some intense fighting and lions chowing down on carcasses, death is treated sensitively and there's no gratuitous blood and gore.

Pride will easily become a classic that parents will want to use to introduce their children to the beauty and drama of the wilder side of nature.

Pride video clips courtesy of Warner Home Video:

The Cobra - Low Resolution | Medium | High
Crossing The River - Low Resolution | Medium | High
Talking With Lions - Low Resolution | Medium | High

©

Published October 15, 2004

This article is Copyright © 2004, David Haber, and may not be reproduced on other web sites or in print, in whole or in part, without expressed permission

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