Thisdocumentary tells the heart warming story of Christian, a lion cubpurchased from a London department store in the late 60's andsuccessfully released into the African wild three years later. Featuringoriginal archive footage and photographs of Christian's life in Londonand Kenya, the story is told by all the key players in interviews filmedin 2009.
伦敦哈罗德百货公司有个动物园，这里的一些小动物要卖掉，约翰和艾斯花3000英镑买了一只狮子仔，取名叫克里斯蒂安。毛茸茸的小家伙克里斯蒂安性格温顺友善，在家具店生活了半年，是朋友间很受欢迎的大玩偶。约翰和艾斯觉得这样下去不行，但是又不愿意让克里斯蒂安去动物园或者马戏团。后来，终于有机会把克里斯蒂安送到肯尼亚大草原去放养，毫无捕猎能力的克里斯蒂安遇到第一个好朋友博伊，但是这位大公狮子后来死于事故，克里斯蒂安情绪低落忧伤，无以排解……
幕后
2008年，视频网站YouTube上一段人狮相拥的视频(Christian the lion)开始热播。迄今点击超过5000万次。视频讲述了两名年轻人和一头五百磅的狮子重逢的故事。他们已经几年没见了。
这个是Blink TV把大部分片段收集起来重新编辑的一个完整纪录片。由BBC电视台放影。
故事开始于1969年，两个澳洲年青人到英国伦敦去工作，在harrods百货公司看到两只小狮子出售。狮子被关在很小的笼子里，他们觉得这两个小生命很可怜，就买下其中一只小狮子，并取名为Christian，将它豢养在他们在伦敦Chelsea的家，一个高级家具店里(这两个年青人工作的地方)的地下室。
伦敦的Chelsea地区在6、7十年代是非常潮流的区域,不少影星住在这个地方。当时Christian倍受宠爱，出入坐Bentley轿车、高级餐厅，附近的一个教堂也准许这两个年青人在教堂的空地上带着Christian活动活动筋骨。
但是一年之后，Christian从35磅长到185磅，在1970年代，一个星期三十英镑的伙食费已经让人喘不过气来了。在一个偶然的机会下，他们认识了在非洲肯尼亚的一对专门帮助狮子回归大自然的夫妇。他们将Christian送到非洲，Christian也很顺利的适应非洲的草原。之后这两位年青人回到伦敦，而这对夫妇也定期向他们报告Christian的行踪。他们告诉年青人，Christian已经成为一群狮子的首领。这两位年青人偶尔也飞到非洲去探望Christian。
但是在四年之后（1974年）的一天，这对夫妇打电话给这两位澳洲年青人，告诉他们Christian已经失踪三个月了，最坏的打算是它已经完全融入野外，认不得它的人类朋友了。但是这两个年青人还是立刻决定飞到非洲向Christian说再见。在他们两人的飞机降落前一个晚上，这对夫妇说，Christian突然又出现了，而且坐在这对夫妇营地的不远处，好像在等这两个年青人的出现。
当 Christian 和这两个年青人刚见面的时候，一开始Christian并不确定，但是过了一阵子之后，Christian确定这两人就是它的前室友...
In2008, Youtube featured an extraordinary film clip that has become aphenomenon. Seen by more than 50 million people, it shows theextraordinary reunion of two young men and their 500 lb pet lion,Christian. Several years after they had last seen him and he had beenreturned from the UK to the wilderness of Kenya.
Shot in 1974 andnow made available for this documentary special, this archive anddozens of earlier film rolls dating back to 1971 tell the extraordinarystory of Christian, the lion who was bought as a cub by John Randall andAce Berg, from the Harrods ‘Exotic Animals Department’ (when the shopprided itself on selling anything anyone might desire!). The lion thenfound himself swept up into the heart of hip London society at theheight of the ‘swinging sixties’, hanging out with icons including DianaRigg, Mary Quant, and Vivienne Westwood.
Travelling by Bentley,eating in fine London restaurants and spending his days lounging in thefurniture shop run by his new owners, Christian became a bit of acelebrity in his own right. But a major issue was looming; Christian wasgrowing too big to be kept as a pet and was increasingly demonstratinghis powerful and potentially fatal ‘wild side’. Ace and John had a majorproblem…
Set against the era of free love, rock and roll and anexplosion of youth culture, this film has a powerful contemporarysoundtrack and combines glorious archive film (much of it never seenbefore), stills and lavishly captured interviews with John, Ace, theiroften famous friends and customers.
It tells the unique, epic andultimately heart-warming tale behind one of the most popular Youtubeclips of recent times: how an impulsive shopping trip by two King’s Roadhippies inadvertently got them swept into an international crisis andlanding them with the massive challenge of reintroducing a fullydomesticated adult lion into the African wilderness....