Parents' Guide to

Microcosmos

By Tracy Moore, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Breathtaking docu zooms in on insect life in vivid color.

Movie G 1996 75 minutes
Microcosmos Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 4+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Gamer4056
Gamer4056 Adult
August 13, 2018
age 5+

Microcosmos Parent Guide

This documentary movie is fun and entertaining for kids and adults. Violence: "Circle of Life" violence. Scary moments: The violence that was previously mentioned has to do with the scary moments. No sexual content. Love content: Two snails kiss and embrace (to hold someone closely, especially as a sign of affection). This movie is rated G for General Audiences/All Ages Admitted. The insects are great role models by making the movie interesting. The people that made this movie are great role models too. Great messages and lessons are in this movie too. Great movie!

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much violence
hmquiroz
hmquiroz Parent of 2, 7 and 9-year-old
September 13, 2015
age 2+

Whole family loved!

The whole family enjoyed watching this film, wven my 2 year old.
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

The world is overrun with insects, but have you ever seen them up close and personal? Here, time-lapse, slow-motion, and zoom lenses show us the insect world as we've never seen it. Spiders track and overwhelm their prey; bees zoom through the countryside, mosquitoes hatch, and beetles do battle as the camera races through grass, ponds, and hillsides to reveal the life teeming below.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (2):
Kids say: Not yet rated

MICROCOSMOS was released in the mid-1990s, but it holds up. The revealing shots are as crisp and intimate as ever, and the film marvels at the natural world in what's more of a hypnotic meditation than a classroom lecture. That said, viewers looking for bug trivia will be disappointed. Though there's brief narration, the insects and weather are the stars here, and the documentary lets everybody do their thing while racing around to catch it all, pausing on occasion to watch a mosquito hatch or a beetle push a ball of dung uphill.

More importantly, one kid's awe is another kid's nightmare. Though most viewers will be fascinated by the unique vantage offered here and likely inspired by nature as a result, be cognizant of the unsettling aspect of seeing beetle jaws up close or spiders dragging their victims through the water to entomb them. Birth and cocoons and slithery worms are as intriguing as they are repellent, and rain never looked so violent as it does from the viewpoint of a nearly submerged frog.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the film's camera techniques of time-lapse, slow-motion, and microscopic closeups. How does it make the insect world look to you now? Had you ever seen it this close before?

  • Imagine what it would be like to experience the rain as the frog in the documentary did. What would you do? How do you think it would feel?

  • What role do insects play in our habitat? Should we fear them or be grateful for them?

Movie Details

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