Earth

What’s the Story?

EARTH is a gorgeously photographed documentary that follows animals on all seven continents throughout one year's "circle of life." Re-combining footage from the BBC production Planet Earth (shown on the Discovery Channel in the U.S.), British wildlife documentarians Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield focus on a few key animal families -- polar bears, humpback whales, and elephants -- that have to overcome exhausting, dangerous obstacles to survive each season. From the birds of paradise strutting their feathers in the tropics to the lone lynx in the coniferous forest, Earth shows how seasonal changes affect birth, life, and death on our planet.

Is It Any Good?

In its worldwide scope, the fim is stunningly epic -- a cinematographic masterpiece of the natural world. From the polar bear cubs and Adelie penguins adorably navigating their icy terrain to the Demoiselle cranes soaring above the Himalayas, there are countless breathtaking scenes. With James Earl Jones' rich, familiar baritone narrating the action (and yes, he does actually say "circle of life" as a wink to Lion King fans), even young kids will sit still to watch the drama of Earth unfold.

Knowing its audience, Disney and the filmmakers purposefully cut out anything grisly. There's no When Animals Attack-style compilation of bloody maulings in the wild. But there are several poignantly implied deaths, as well as one overt one. In one particularly heartbreaking scene, a caribou calf tries valiantly to outrun a hungry wolf (the odds are even, Jones explains, because caribou run faster than wolves), but the calf loses his footing, and the wolf catches him in a single stride. But for every sorrow there is also a triumph -- like when the exhausted, dehydrated elephant herd finally reaches the Okafago delta and can at last drink and frolic in the water. If we humans don't take care of our planet, the film suggests, there won't be enough water for the elephants -- or ice for the polar bears or trees for the birds -- and that's a lesson we could all use.