Parents' Guide to

Blue Planet

By Will Wade, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Stunning undersea footage trumps a few storytelling flaws.

TV Planet Green Educational 2002
Blue Planet Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

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age 8+

Based on 6 parent reviews

Moby Is Awesome
Moby Is Awesome Adult
March 2, 2021
age 8+

One of the best ocean shows.

I think this show is tied for first of best ocean shows. It's tied with Jonathan Bird's Blue World. I really enjoy the music that's in here. There is some violence but that's mostly predator and prey. I hope you get to check it out sometime.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much violence
raymondjj
raymondjj Adult
November 9, 2018
age 6+

Blue Planet For All Families

Enjoy this BBC series because of it's down to earth approach to environmental issues . The series provides families with a fun and creative way to learn about the ocean environment that we share with creatures beneath the sea and not only is the series stimulating education wise, it also provides the importance of environmental issues. Great for older children ( 6 and up) but younger ones could have fun too trying to identify the different creatures beneath the ocean floor,

This title has:

Great messages
See all 6 parent reviews

What's the Story?

More than 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water, but as narrator David Attenborough explains in BLUE PLANET, the seas remain largely a mystery. This beautiful documentary series tries to answer some of those mysteries, using amazing footage of marine creatures in the wild, from the largest whales to tiny krill. It also examines humans' impact on the oceans and shows how the changing climate is also changing the undersea ecosystem.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (6):
Kids say (2):

This series (which originally aired in the United States in 2002) is truly beautiful to watch. The producers, and especially the camera operators, have managed to capture incredible footage of the oceans' inhabitants in their element.

But the series sometimes seems to lack a unifying thread other than the seas. Each episode consists of several different segments that aren't always connected. A segment about the physics of waves can lead info footage of sea turtles crawling across a beach to lay their eggs. Both are interesting, but there's little connection.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about climate change and the sea. How have humans altered the planet, especially the oceans? How does that impact marine life? Do you think ecology and conservation have become more common themes in TV shows in recent years?

  • How do you think the filmmakers managed to capture all this underwater footage? Do you think that sounds like a fun job? Does watching this show make you want to learn more about the oceans? How could you turn an interest in the seas into a career?

TV Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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