Very well executed

Good start, but then it gets ruined

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

If you want a feel-good nature documentary (as many hosted by Martin Clunes are), then do NOT watch "Martin Clunes & a Lion Called Mugie". While very well made and interesting, ultimately it's an awfully depressing film that illustrates how dire the situation is with African wildlife...particularly lions. Clunes travels to Kenya to meet with Tony, an old assistant to George Adamson (of "Born Free" fame). Apparently, after Adamson was murdered back in the 1980s, his lion rehabilitation center in Kora National Park has been allowed to rot. Now, fortunately, his old assistant and others have rebuilt the place and are welcoming their first lion. The plan is to raise and rehabilitate Mugie, a young male lion. The problem is that throughout the continent many of the wild species are being killed off by poachers and encroaching farmers. And, just how all this plays out helps to illustrate the problem. Well made and interesting but one you might not want to show to small kids nor might you want to watch if you are depressed already.