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Article: Out of South Africa; A boy and his cheetah heed call of the wild; Schmaltzy but heartfelt, "Duma" follows in the tradition of other kid-and-animal movies.(SCENE)(Movie Review)
- Article from:
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
- Article date:
- January 6, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Star Tribune Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Jeff Strickler; Staff Writer
Director Carroll Ballard needs three things to make one of his family flicks: a kid, an animal and a trip. The trio worked for "Fly Away Home" in 1996, "The Black Stallion" in 1979 and now for "Duma."
The film, which takes its title from the Swahili term for cheetah, is set in South Africa, where a youngster adopts an orphaned cheetah cub and tends it until he concedes, albeit reluctantly, that it's time to return the animal to its natural habitat, something that turns out to be a lot harder - physically and emotionally - than he expected.
The story is credited to Xan Hopcraft's book "How It Was With Dooms." ...