The Meerkats (2008) More at IMDbPro »
Overview
User Rating:
6.8/10 217 votes
MOVIEmeter:
Down 18% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
James Honeyborne
Writers:
James Honeyborne (story)
Alexander McCall Smith (narration)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Meerkats on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
7 August 2009 (UK) more
Genre:
Documentary more
Plot Keywords:
Meerkat
Awards:
1 win more
NewsDesk:
March of the 'Meerkats' for Weinsteins
(From ioncinema. 2 November 2006)
User Comments:
A Nutshell Review: The Meerkats more
Cast (Credited cast)
more
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Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
83 min
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Certification:
USA:G | Singapore:G | Netherlands:AL | South Korea:All | Australia:G | Ireland:G | Argentina:Atp
Filming Locations:
Kalahari Raptor Centre, Northern Cape, South Africa more
Company:
BBC Films more
Fun Stuff
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Stern TV: (2008-11-05)" (2008) more
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User Comments (Comment on this title)
10 out of 12 people found the following comment useful.
A Nutshell Review: The Meerkats, 1 May 2009
Author: DICK STEEL from Singapore
Let the wildlife documentaries roll in. I suppose it's lucrative enough to make a film based on animals both in wildlife, or in captivity, protecting them from the threat of extinction. You can name such films with ease, starting from the award winning March of the Penguins, to the fictional story The Fox and the Child and to the latest screened here in Panda Diary. The Meerkats took a bow at last year's Tokyo International Film Festival, and while we may not be that familiar with this species, the story weaved into this documentary has universal themes going back to basics on survival.
The filmmakers had spent some 6 months to observe the meerkats' breeding period in their natural environment in the Kalahari desert, and the footage they obtained is nothing less than stunning, though I suspect for certain shots they had recycled perhaps from some earlier moments, and juxtaposed them in place to make a more logical narrative. Still, it's no mean feat deserving of kudos for Alexander McCall Smith because it certainly takes tremendous man-hours to craft a drama narratively from what is essentially footage of animals going about their own thing.
Narrated by the late Paul Newman, The Meerkats have all the ingredients necessary to engage an audience throughout its brisk 83 minutes. We have an identified flawed hero Meerkat, Kolo, from whose eyes we will witness events from. And it's like a life-cycle, coming of age tale, with Kolo's birth, the life lessons he has got to learn fast if he's to survival in a harsh habitat with predators and the environment both threatening his family's very survival, a tragedy, an accidental exile and the return of the prodigal son.
For the uninitiated, we get to learn a little more about the meerkats just as how one watching a nature documentary would pick up from, such as their diet, their underground abode, as well as their chief enemies, and director James Honeybornes ensures we get ringside seats in the thick of the action whether it's the battling against swooping eagles, cunning snakes, or even against fellow meerkats of a different tribe. Personallly I dislike snakes, and watching one slither about on screen and up close, isn't really my cup of tea. But the "action sequences" were an eye-opener, with a very natural and real sense of danger because it's not crafted, but is exactly as what nature intended – the laws of the food chain amongst the vast African plains.
So for documentary lovers out there who are on the bandwagon for more wildlife films, then The Meerkats would be your automatic choice. Recommended.
