Nature: The Story of Cats Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Nature: The Story of Cats Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 17, 2024

While The Story of Cats is less concerned with the story of the housecat and more concerned with the story of various species of wildcats, the film evolves the narrative to demonstrate how native instincts, natural physical attributes, and extreme adaptability have shaped the domestic cat over the past few hundred years. The film, capably narrated by Nora Young, explores in two parts the history, and the lives, of various larger cat species around the world and, by the end of part two, how the now commonplace housecat has evolved from its larger companions but also retains many of the same instinctive desires and natural capabilities of those same cats that are larger in size and its elders in the wild. It's a good, if not fairly compact, exploration of the history of the larger species and should tickle the fancy of all viewers, whether lifelong students of cats or small children who just enjoy the cute-and-cuddly imagery (though there are a few graphic shots of cats devouring bloody prey).

The film delivers a rapid-fire journey through various times, places, and species of cat, hitting each with lighting strike speed and precision, offering just enough to satisfy basic information but not really digging so deep as a dedicated portrait might have allowed. Still, audiences will walk away somewhat educated and fairly well entertained, the former through interesting narrative design and the latter through some wonderful photography that brings audiences up close and personal with the cats in question.

What keeps the film going is not just the variety of cats it explores, but digging deep into various topics, like how they adapt to some radically different environments and how their common traits are used in common ways but also in how their unique characteristics help them to thrive in any environment around the world. For example, the film shares how tails serve to balance the cat and, for the Snow Leopard, even offer some additional warmth, acting like a scarf. Many species share some interesting commonalities, like the need to hide food or risk losing it to scavengers (has your cat ever hidden its food?). Also: the film explores the place and purpose of pheromones, the role of whiskers in the hunt, cat eyesight, and much more. It’s interesting stuff and sure to please the eyes, and stir the heart, of cat loves and nature enthusiasts alike!

Part 1: Asia to Africa (52:59)

Every member of the modern cat family can trace its origins back to the continent of Asia. The film begins with a look at the one cat that is still living as it did many eons ago, and that is the Clouded Leopard. And much of its biological characteristics are shared by domestic cats, but some are not, including its now somewhat unnatural ability to agilely climb down, and not just climb up. The film looks at other types of cats, like the Leopard and its night vision and hunting prowess; the Bengal Tiger’s camouflage; fishing cats; the life of the Snow Leopard; the desert Sand Cat’s adaptability to thrive in a harsh climate; and the life (and roars) of the lion and the purrs of the smaller cats.

Part 2: Into the Americas (52:59)

Part two looks at how cats travelled across a land bridge from Asia to the Americas. The film begins with a now-native of the frigid far North American continent, the Canada Lynx, and its adaptability to the harsh Canadian environment. This segment also turns its attention to American Cheetahs and Mountain Lions and the cats’ adaptations for survival in new climates, even outside of urban Los Angeles. Part two also examines the cute, but well capable, Margay, the mating habits of Ocelots, the life and times of North American Jaguars, the tiny insect-eating Rusted Spotted Cat which makes a big impact in its environment, and how the Wildcat evolved into today’s housecat, which is still wild, and a hunter, at heart. This segment also looks at the rise and times of native North American predators, like wolves, and the competition that rose between the species.

Nature: The Story of Cats Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

PBS presents Cats on Blu-ray with a 1080i transfer. The image is at something of a disadvantage at the 1080i, rather than 1080p, resolution, but the picture is fairly stable and agreeable in the aggregate, and there are no obvious interlacing artifacts evident. Because there are some lower resolution inserts here and there due to variations in cameras, environmental needs, night vision shots, and more, the quality can vary wildly, but for the most part the picture offers mostly stable, pleasing visuals that take full advantage of the 1080 resolution and offers very nice clarity to animal fur, definition to feline eyes, and various environments, notably in dense forest and jungle areas but also in evidence in trampled snow and some urban environments seen later in the film. Color output is very good, perhaps lacking the absolute depth and vividness of the best material but definitely finding very good stability to feline fur colors, pink tongues, blue and green cat eyes, green foliage, desert browns, and the like. White snow offers good balance, nighttime black levels (and black fur) are nicely defined, and skin tones on a few humans in the film look natural. The image can run into some noise and banding, at times, but these are not serious issues. Overall, even at 1080i, this is a very pleasing image from PBS.

Nature: The Story of Cats Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Story of Cats arrives on Blu-ray with an LPCM 5.1 uncompressed soundtrack (a 2.0 LPCM track with more limited range, but solid clarity and centered dialogue, is also included). The 5.1 track does well enough to bring some spacing elements into play, primarily regarding some environmental ambience. Certainly, this is never a surround extravaganza, but listeners will appreciate some of the more subtle cues and basic elemental wrap to be found around the stage, at times. Music is likewise clear with some obvious, though never overbearing, surround content as well. Primarily, the track is concerned with presenting narration and occasional dialogue, and the spoken word in either way it is presented is always clear, centered, and well prioritized. This is not a memorable listen by any stretch of the imagination, but it definitely gets the job done.

Nature: The Story of Cats Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of The Story of Cats contains no extras, unless one counts a menu screen tab advertising PBS.org. The main menu screen does at least offer full motion video and accompanying musical audio. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover, but it does ship with an insert advertising a dozen other PBS Blu-ray releases.

Nature: The Story of Cats Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Story of Cats is aptly titled because it is indeed, well, The Story of Cats: a broad and quick, yet still intellectually stimulating and visually appealing, journey through the history, life, times, and evolution of the feline species. The film cannot offer the sort of depth that more focused programing could yield, but as a primer on all things cats, large and small alike, it's truly hard to beat. The Blu-ray is solid, technically, if not still fairly routine in audio and video presentation elements. No extras are included, which is a shame but not a real surprise for a program of this nature. Recommended.