London , England ( CNN ) -- Filmmaker Keith Scholey has a PhD in zoology and three decades of experience filming and photographing wildlife . Yet when it came to predicting the behavior of the lions and cheetahs of Kenya 's Maasai Mara Nature Reserve , all that proved of little use . `` You 're constantly surprised , '' he said . `` When you start following wild animals , you 're initially an incredible expert . And the more you follow them , you realize you 're less and less of an expert . '' For his new film `` African Cats , '' Scholey led a film crew documenting the lives of individual lions and cheetahs over the course of two and a half years . `` The only thing we had control over was the selection of the characters -- we had no control over the plot , '' says Scholey . The Disneynature film , which is narrated by Sir Patrick Stewart , debuted in the UK Wednesday , with a royal premiere attended by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge . The Duke gave a speech calling for an end to wildlife poaching in Africa after the screening . Describing their filming routine , Scholey said each morning , the crew would wake in their camp before dawn , and set out to where they had left the cats the night before . If they managed to find them , the crew would then follow their adventures through the 1510-square-kilometer reserve , one of the few remaining places where the three big African cats -- lions , cheetahs and leopards -- live in large numbers and in close proximity . It led them to unforgettable sights -- all captured in high definition and slow motion -- as the animals engaged in rivalries and constant struggles for sustenance and survival , earning the movie a billing as the `` real-life 'Lion King ' . '' `` The most remarkable scene was two lions swimming across the flooded Mara River and one being taken by a croc and getting away , '' recalled Scholey . `` We did n't know crocs would go for lions -- and now we know . You can see why lions are really unhappy to go in that river . '' As the crew followed their subjects , the animals ' individual personalities gradually revealed themselves . `` You do n't want to anthropomorphize , yet they do have distinct personalities that come out , '' said Sophie Darlington , the movie 's principal photographer . Some were brave , others cowards . Some were leaders , others followers . And some had developed specialist skills -- like the lioness who had mastered a unique technique for suffocating her prey -- that others lacked . As a species , lions also had their own particular character -- dramatic , charismatic , and occasionally unintentionally comic -- which the crew grew to appreciate . `` There 's nothing funnier than a lion doing a pratfall , '' said Darlington . Explained specialist photographer Simon King : `` It 's their -- sometimes false -- sense of confidence , in everything . They do n't think they can put a foot wrong and they frequently do , and it 's amusing to watch . '' The crew were safe observing the animals -- sometimes at extremely close quarters -- from the sanctuary of their vehicles , although lions and elephants sometimes wandered through their camps at night . On one occasion , a bull elephant , drawn to a fruiting tree , rolled over one of the crew 's vehicles that had been parked nearby . Generally though , their presence did not bother the animals , who were used to vehicles entering the reserve . `` Do they care ? Some of the time we 're undoubtedly an asset , because we 're shade on a hot day , '' said King . `` In the past I 've had 13 lions under my car . They 're very flatulent , and then they try to bite the brake tubes . '' The film 's producers hope that by engaging audiences in the real-life narratives of the great cats , they can encourage people to protect the species . Cheetahs , the world 's fastest land animals , are endangered , while lions are classified as vulnerable . `` It 's important not to convey a finger wagging message in every single production because that would be counterproductive , '' said King . `` A movie like this is a celebration of other lives that I hope will get people thinking , so when they next hear that tigers , lions , cheetahs , elephants , rhino are under threat , they do something about it . ''
` ` African Cats '' is a new film documenting the lives of Africa 's lions and cheetahs . The filmmakers spent more than two years following the great cats as they struggled to survive . During the course of filming , they got to know the distinct personalities of their subjects . They hope the film , billed as a ` ` real - life Lion Story , '' will increase audiences ' interest in conservation .