Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins (2008)

Not Factial!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was very excited to see this movie. I was EXTREMELY dissapointed.A lot of what the movie said and showed simply wasn`t true! Flower`s sister Petal was killed by a goshawk not a snake. They changed the name Bulgarion to Titan and Ziziphus to Regan. They completely left out Flower`s cousin Risca`s one-year reign as leader of the Whiskers. Zaphod and Yossarian were Vivian rovers not Lazuli, and when they joined Whiskers they joined with six other Vivian males. Flower did not win her first battle with the Lazuli, she lost it. The movie needed more action (it was to slow moving) . Plus this movie does not show enough of Flower`s early leadership. Flower, Vialli, Holly, Yossarian, Zaphod, Argon, and the other meerkats aren`t played by the meerkats there supposed to be. Flower is played by six different females. READ TIM CLUTTON-BROCK`S BOOK INSTEAD!!!!!! September 9, 2008

Disappointing: Not What It's Cracked Up to Be

Weak script, not enough real film footage and detail about Flower, skims and skips too much, not satisfying. Not like the TV show of Meerkat Manor. I bought the film to watch on my own time. If I had known it wasn't worth it, I wouldn't have bothered to buy it. Was a real fan of the TV show. July 13, 2008

Not so bad.

In my opinion, the movie really isn't as bad as everyone says; I've got one problem with it, and that is the actual footage of the Meerkats shown in the movie are just random Meerkats that basically happened to 'do what the film crew wanted them to,' and when they did, they edited the tape together to give us the movie. If the movie was actually filmed like the Meerkat Manor series in which the actual named Meerkats are being filmed in their lives, then the movie would have been much more pleasing.

Whoopi's narrative is a bit different from what viewers may be used to, but I think she adds something 'special' and different for the movie, since the movie IS a bit different from the series. It's a good 'prequel' to the series for someone who has never seen it.

I still favour the series over the movie, but the movie is still worth seeing if you love meerkats and are open-minded to a different narrator. June 29, 2008

Meerkat Manor For Dummies

That should have been the title of this fiasco. Personally Flower was never my favorite meerkat, i always found her cold and harsh,but that is not the problem here. The problems are:

1. Whoopi: her narration is distracting and annoying.
2. The fact that it is a movie and has to be condensed, it loses all thrill of what is going to happen next.

But my main gripe is that this "movie" isn't actual footage of how things happened it is meerkat "actors" that were filmed untill they got the necessary footage needed to fill in the story. If they didnt have actual Flower footage they shouldnt have bothered making this movie. As it is its as fake as "THE HILLS" and not even half as entertaining. Also i felt the script was dumbed down, like it was talking down to the viewer.

As for season four of MM im not afraid of change, is the same show but with a different narrator. I find it as entertaining as it always has been.

But this movie should be skipped.
EP June 29, 2008

For Flower

This sweet little film is a tribute to Flower, the beloved Mama Meerkat who died during the filming of the third season. I do not know how accurate the storytelling and filming actually are, but it doesn't matter. This is a nice Mother's Day gift about a smart, brave, beautiful little animal and her huge, colorful family.

My only regret is that Sean Astin, the narrator of the original three seasons. did not provide the narration for this last film, dedicated to Flower. Apparently Whoopie Goldberg is the narrator for the fourth season (the "Next Generation" pun inescapable, especially with Whoopi, to Star trek fans). I would have preferred Sean Astin, but this does nothing to detract from the enjoyment of the film. Buy it and give it to a favorite mother. June 22, 2008

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