Untamed Africa: A Safari That Needs a Better Travel Agent

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you’re into the kind of old-school nature documentaries that feel like a family vacation gone sideways. If you love seeing leopards and aren't bothered by the occasional very shaky camera work, you'll probably dig it. But if you’re a parent, the stress levels might be too high. Watching these kids hang out near hippos is definitely not for the faint of heart.

The whole thing feels like a time capsule. You’ve got the Hubbard family just… out there. Living their lives in the middle of nowhere. It’s wild.

Wait, are those real monkeys?

The bit with the pet monkeys is charming enough, I guess. It brings a weird, lighthearted energy that gets immediately shattered when the fire starts. One second you're looking at a cute primate, and the next, the camp is literally turning into a chimney.

Speaking of intensity, the lion attack on the oxen? Yikes. It’s not something you see every day, and it’s captured with this weird, raw feeling. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in The Son of the Sheik where things just keep escalating until you're genuinely worried about the outcome.

I kept wondering if the parents were actually in control. Some of the shots make it look like they’re just observing the chaos like tourists. Maybe they were.

• The leopard shots are actually pretty stunning.
• The fire sequence is way more terrifying than it has any right to be.
• The editing feels like someone was cutting the film while running away from a predator.

It’s nowhere near as polished as a modern nature flick. That’s the point, I think. It has that same unrefined, dusty quality you find in older adventure yarns like The Man from Brodney's. It’s not trying to teach you anything. It just wants to show you how close they got to becoming lunch.

I left the movie feeling like I needed a long nap and a very secure, sturdy fence. It’s definitely not your typical weekend watch. But hey, it’s memorable. 🦁🔥