Cheetah


1h 23m 1989
Cheetah

Brief Synopsis

When their scientist parents take them to Kenya for six months, two L.A. teenagers adopt a cheetah, only to realize that they must reacclimate the animal to life in the wild.

Film Details

Also Known As
Cheetah and Friends, Cheetah and the Hare, The
MPAA Rating
Genre
Adventure
Release Date
1989
Distribution Company
Walt Disney Studios Distribution
Location
Kenya

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 23m

Synopsis

When their scientist parents take them to Kenya for six months, two L.A. teenagers adopt a cheetah, only to realize that they must reacclimate the animal to life in the wild.

Crew

Sophia Ali Abdi

Wardrobe

Eric Albertson

Editor

Sean Albertson

Assistant Editor

Jock Anderson

Other

Colin Athanasuis

On-Set Dresser

John Barrett

Assistant

Diana Barry

Assistant Editor

Thornton Bayliss

Key Grip

Suzy Belcher

Hair Assistant

Suzy Belcher

Makeup Assistant

Lester Berman

Assistant Director

Lester Berman

Production Manager

Emma Boxahall

Script Supervisor

Thomas Burstyn

Director Of Photography

Alan Caillou

Book As Source Material

Jane Cavedon

Production Designer

Jack Cooley

Sound

Jack Couffer

Associate Producer

Jack Couffer

Screenplay

Jack Couffer

From Story

Con Cremins

Production Accountant

Samantha Crouch

Wardrobe Assistant

William Daly

Sound Mixer

Roy Edward Disney

Executive Producer

Yves Drapeau

Assistant Camera Operator

Griff Durhone

Screenplay

David Finamore

Editor

Jack Fitzstephens

Adr Editor

Edward Francis

Property Master

Bernard Gathero

Transportation Coordinator

Barry Gaymer

Construction Coordinator

Robin Gray

Music

Robert Halmi

Producer

Teddy K Harrison

Song

Joe Herrington

Other

Norma Hill-patton

Makeup Supervisor

Norma Hill-patton

Hair

John Houston

Assistant Director

Rebecca Howard

Casting

Kun Istvan

Animal Trainer

Robert Jackson

Assistant Director

Joanne Jimenez

Adr Editor

Ron Kalish

Sound Editor

Paul Babu Kamau

Production Assistant

Njeri Karago

Location Assistant

David Kareithi

Art Assistant

Stanley C Kariuki

Property Master Assistant

Matthew Kipoin

Location Manager

Richard Klompus

Boom Operator

Lynn Kressel

Casting

John Lewin

Best Boy

Nick Lowin

Camera Assistant

Richard Luckey

Music Editor

Konga Mbandu

Casting Associate

Mike Mclellian

Dolly Grip

Christie Miele

Animal Trainer

Albert Muraya

Production Assistant

Freddie Muraya

Art Assistant

Greg Muraya

Art Assistant

Samuel Kariuki Njoroge

Assistant Set Dresser

Annie Olivecrona

Unit Manager

Basil Pappas

Foley Artist

Basil Pappas

Sound Editor

Pat Pennelegion

Production Coordinator

Roy Prendergast

Music Editor

Larry Prinz

Key Grip

Larry Prinz

Gaffer

Dominique Ricard

Assistant Camera Operator

Wally Ross

Animal Trainer

Bruce Rowland

Music

Harvey Rubin

Camera Operator

Elizabeth Ryrie

Costume Designer

Don Saari

Gaffer

Davis Sindiyo

Assistant Director

Doree Sitterly

Animal Trainer

Doris Soraci

Sound Editor

Jesse Soraci

Sound Editor

Susan Stribling

Script Supervisor

Jules Sylvester

Animal Trainer

Erick Tarloff

Screenplay

Bruce Trzebinski

On-Set Dresser

Ronald Vidor

Steadicam Operator

Moez Visram

Photography

Selma Weitz

Production

Moses Weitzman

Digital Effects Supervisor

Sara Withey

Casting

Caroline Woodall

Assistant Art Director

Michael Zimbrich

Assistant Director

Paul Zydel

Adr Mixer

Film Details

Also Known As
Cheetah and Friends, Cheetah and the Hare, The
MPAA Rating
Genre
Adventure
Release Date
1989
Distribution Company
Walt Disney Studios Distribution
Location
Kenya

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 23m

Articles

Cheetah (1989)


A family film in the tradition of Born Free (1966), the Disney live-action adventure Cheetah takes viewers to the plains of Africa for a story of American kids in Kenya who adopt an orphaned cheetah cub. Keith Coogan and Lucy Deakins star as Ted and Susan, spunky California teens in Africa for a six-month visit with their parents at the Rift Valley of Kenya, where their father works at a NASA tracking station in the desert and mother works at a clinic. Craving adventure, they leave their protected compound to explore and they meet Morogo (Colin Mothupi), a 10-year-old goat herder from the local Masai tribe, and find a cheetah cub orphaned by poachers. Just as in Born Free, the African cat grows up tame and trusting of its human family and they realize that they must train their beloved pet, who they name Duma, to hunt so they can return him to the wild before going home to America.

It's an old school Disney natural history drama, filled with footage of wild animals in their habitat and adorable scenes of the pet cheetah playing with the human stars. The story, which is adapted from the novel The Cheetahs by actor/writer/professional hunter Alan Caillou, involves a catnapping and a journey by the three friends across the savanna to rescue their furry, four-legged friend. The kids also learn a little about one another's cultures and Morogo introduces them to the phrase "hakuna matata," Swahili for "no worries," which became famous when Disney used the phrase in a song in the animated smash hit The Lion King (1994) nearly 30 years later.

Keith Coogan, grandson of the great child actor Jackie Coogan, is the closest the film has to a major star. A veteran child actor, Keith had appeared in dozens of TV shows (billed as Keith Mitchell), voiced the character of the young fox Tod in Disney's animated film The Fox and the Hound (1981) and starred opposite Elisabeth Shue in the hit comedy Adventures in Babysitting (1987) before taking the lead in Cheetah. He continues to act in movies and on TV. Lucy Deakins starred in the 1986 family fantasy The Boy Who Could Fly and had supporting roles in the thriller Little Nikita (1988 and opposite River Phoenix) and the comedy The Great Outdoors (1988), but soon left the acting profession to pursue other interests, including a stint as a firefighter and eventually embarked on a career as a lawyer.

Cheetah is the first feature by filmmaker Jeff Blyth, who had made documentaries all over the world and shot the spectacular footage in Circle-Vision 360-degree film, featured in Disney theme parks. A veteran of natural history filmmaking, he shot the film on location at Nairobu National Park in Kenya. He described shooting in Africa "a little bit like waterskiing- from in front of the boat. You went out there hoping to have a good time, but now you're just hoping not to get run over by the damned thing." Three different cheetahs played the role of Duma, all of them perfectly tame and affectionate with the cast.

Lawrence Van Gelder, reviewing the film for The New York Times, praised the scenery and the wildlife footage. "On a rainy summer day, when the real great outdoors or a visit to the zoo may be too soggy to contemplate, the G-rated Cheetah may do its bit for preservation by providing an antidote to cabin fever for parents of children growing restless with Big Bird but not yet ready for Indiana Jones."

Sources:
"A Cheetah, Two Teen-Agers and Mickey," Lawrence Van Gelder. The New York Times, August 18, 1989.
AFI Catalog of Feature Films
IMDb

By Sean Axmaker
Cheetah (1989)

Cheetah (1989)

A family film in the tradition of Born Free (1966), the Disney live-action adventure Cheetah takes viewers to the plains of Africa for a story of American kids in Kenya who adopt an orphaned cheetah cub. Keith Coogan and Lucy Deakins star as Ted and Susan, spunky California teens in Africa for a six-month visit with their parents at the Rift Valley of Kenya, where their father works at a NASA tracking station in the desert and mother works at a clinic. Craving adventure, they leave their protected compound to explore and they meet Morogo (Colin Mothupi), a 10-year-old goat herder from the local Masai tribe, and find a cheetah cub orphaned by poachers. Just as in Born Free, the African cat grows up tame and trusting of its human family and they realize that they must train their beloved pet, who they name Duma, to hunt so they can return him to the wild before going home to America. It's an old school Disney natural history drama, filled with footage of wild animals in their habitat and adorable scenes of the pet cheetah playing with the human stars. The story, which is adapted from the novel The Cheetahs by actor/writer/professional hunter Alan Caillou, involves a catnapping and a journey by the three friends across the savanna to rescue their furry, four-legged friend. The kids also learn a little about one another's cultures and Morogo introduces them to the phrase "hakuna matata," Swahili for "no worries," which became famous when Disney used the phrase in a song in the animated smash hit The Lion King (1994) nearly 30 years later. Keith Coogan, grandson of the great child actor Jackie Coogan, is the closest the film has to a major star. A veteran child actor, Keith had appeared in dozens of TV shows (billed as Keith Mitchell), voiced the character of the young fox Tod in Disney's animated film The Fox and the Hound (1981) and starred opposite Elisabeth Shue in the hit comedy Adventures in Babysitting (1987) before taking the lead in Cheetah. He continues to act in movies and on TV. Lucy Deakins starred in the 1986 family fantasy The Boy Who Could Fly and had supporting roles in the thriller Little Nikita (1988 and opposite River Phoenix) and the comedy The Great Outdoors (1988), but soon left the acting profession to pursue other interests, including a stint as a firefighter and eventually embarked on a career as a lawyer. Cheetah is the first feature by filmmaker Jeff Blyth, who had made documentaries all over the world and shot the spectacular footage in Circle-Vision 360-degree film, featured in Disney theme parks. A veteran of natural history filmmaking, he shot the film on location at Nairobu National Park in Kenya. He described shooting in Africa "a little bit like waterskiing- from in front of the boat. You went out there hoping to have a good time, but now you're just hoping not to get run over by the damned thing." Three different cheetahs played the role of Duma, all of them perfectly tame and affectionate with the cast. Lawrence Van Gelder, reviewing the film for The New York Times, praised the scenery and the wildlife footage. "On a rainy summer day, when the real great outdoors or a visit to the zoo may be too soggy to contemplate, the G-rated Cheetah may do its bit for preservation by providing an antidote to cabin fever for parents of children growing restless with Big Bird but not yet ready for Indiana Jones." Sources: "A Cheetah, Two Teen-Agers and Mickey," Lawrence Van Gelder. The New York Times, August 18, 1989. AFI Catalog of Feature Films IMDb By Sean Axmaker

Quotes

Trivia

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States on Video July 25, 1990

Released in United States Summer August 18, 1989

Began shooting January 15, 1988.

Released in United States on Video July 25, 1990

Released in United States Summer August 18, 1989