Once you've traveled to the heartland of Africa and been on safari with some of the world’s most learned animal specialists (and now big-screen filmmakers), you realize that every day should be Earth Day. You feel a difference the moment you step off the plane. Africa feels like it has an older soul, that it's from a different time, that it's a different kind of place. Of course, that's easy to say when your puddle-jumper airplane lands on a ... more 

Once you've traveled to the heartland of Africa and been on safari with some of the world’s most learned animal specialists (and now big-screen filmmakers), you realize that every day should be Earth Day. You feel a difference the moment you step off the plane. Africa feels like it has an older soul, that it's from a different time, that it's a different kind of place. Of course, that's easy to say when your puddle-jumper airplane lands on a dirt strip near a herd of forty or more giraffe. Slowly stopping to stare, but certainly not intentionally there to greet you. My trip to Kenya was a magical one. And the opportunity arose at a time when I really needed to be displaced and reminded of the wonders of nature and its marvelous creatures. And what I saw is just a small sampling of what you ultimately experience in Disneynature's African Cats. Until you're fortunate enough to be part of a safari excursion, it's difficult to imagine the patience, planning, intelligence, passion and luck that goes into making this type of film. Here's a look at my "behind-the-scenes set visit" of Disneynature's "African Cats." less