Duma

It won't line Blockbuster's new-release shelves, but this fine, all-audience film is finally available to families across the country | Andrew Coffin

Last year, director Carroll Ballard returned to theaters after a nearly 10-year absence with Duma (rated PG for mild adventure peril), a delightful family film about a South African boy and his pet cheetah. Yet despite near-universal acclaim by critics, the film never received a full-fledged theatrical release.

Instead, Warner Brothers attempted an odd marketing strategy of scheduling small-scale test runs of the film in cities like Phoenix and Sacramento. The hope, apparently, was that Duma would catch fire without a dime spent on advertising. But the film never made it beyond these minor play dates, and now, again with little fanfare, it arrives on DVD.

Hundreds of copies of the disc won't line Blockbuster's new-release shelves, but this fine, all-audience film is finally available to families across the country. Duma will not be remembered with the same fondness as Mr. Ballard's Black Beauty, yet it is head and shoulders above most other family offerings.