DisneyNature: African Cats (2011)

Directors: Alastair Fothergill, Keith Scholey
Writers: Keith Scholey, John Truby
Stars: Samuel L. Jackson

Disney's 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer is a beautifully rendered beast that captures every strand of hair, blade of high grass and distant wildebeest in a thousand-strong herd with spectacular clarity. Colors are warm and natural, black cheetah spots and sunbeat shadows are deep and satisfying, and the plains of the Savannah are brimming with suitably baked (at-times inherently bleached) earthtones, be it by way of a muddy river bank, rustling tree leaves or bristling mane. Detail is also quite extraordinary and hardly a shot goes by that doesn't revel in finely textured fur, crisp underbrush and sharp, wonderfully defined edges. Moreover, it all comes to glorious high definition life without any ringing, aliasing or smearing to speak of. Nighttime scenes are few and far between, yes, but those that find their way into the mix suffer from the usual oddities associated with under-cloak-of-darkness documentary camerawork (increased noise, reduced clarity and the like). And I did notice the slightest hint of banding. But nothing else about the presentation left in me in anything less than complete awe. I can't imagine African Cats and its jaw-dropping photography looking any better than it does here.

Supplements:
• Filmmaker Annotations (HD): The only worthwhile extra to be had is Disneynature's excellent Picture-in-Picture "Annotations" experience, complete with photographer and crew member interviews, accessible featurettes and additional clips, pop-up trivia and factoids, and more. It's a bit hidden, though. An option to engage the track appears when selecting "Play" from the main menu; it doesn't appear in the "Bonus Features" menu.
• Disney & Nature (HD, 4 minutes): A look at the conservation projects and theme park attractions Disney supports and offers.
Save the Savannah (HD, 5 minutes): This short EPK soon transforms into an overview of the fund-raising associated with African Cats and the efforts to preserve lands in the Savannah.
• Music Video (HD, 4 minutes): Jordan Sparks performs "The World I Knew" while taking a midnight stroll.
• Sneak Peeks (HD, 11:37 minutes): Previews and promos are included for Disneynature's Chimpanzee, Cars 2, The Lion King 3D, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Lady and the Tramp, The Lion King on Broadway, Tinker Bell and the Pixie Hollow Games and Treasure Buddies.