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Crocodile Kingdom
By Davis Ryan Cook,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Fact-packed, beautiful nature doc has animal violence.
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What's the Story?
The documentary begins by pointing out that many people think crocodiles rely only on brute strength to terrorize and gain dominance over their environments. Throughout the rest of its 45 minutes, the documentary proves this assumption wrong by showing and explaining the highly evolved bodily adaptations and tricks that each crocodile leverages to maintain its hold over the various threats posed to its dominance, whether they are in the Everglades, Australia, or somewhere in between: fluctuating water levels, storks, egrets, wildebeests, deer, raccoons, wild hogs, zebras, antelopes, elephants, lizards, snakes, humans, and more (all of which animals are shown interacting with the crocodiles, whether trying to steal crocodiles' eggs or passing unwittingly through crocodiles' territories). The documentary presents this flow of information in the chronological order of a crocodile's birth, adolescence, adulthood, and death (but there's no actual crocodile death shown).
Is It Any Good?
Crocodiles are one of Earth's most ancient species, and yet continue to wield intelligent and significant power over the ecosystems in which they live. Crocodile Kingdom brings all the details of the crocodiles' power to the forefront through a wealth of gorgeous (sometimes slow motion, when it fits) footage, evenhanded narration, and the occasional bit of music to underline a tense situation.
Crocodile Kingdom has inherent entertainment value for viewers interested in ecology, science, and of course crocodiles. Unlike some nature documentaries, Crocodile Kingdom does not track or give names to a constant group of animals throughout the show; there are no anthropomorphizing "human interest" stories imposed on the crocodiles. Rather, the documentary builds its pace by focusing on the situations in which many crocodiles find themselves challenged (e.g., protecting unhatched babies from lizards that are hungry for crocodile eggs). The documentary, so to speak, lets the crocodiles speak for themselves, and relies on a wealth of information and stunning camera work to open a window into crocodiles' lives.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how crocodiles can look so different from humans yet still worry about some of the same problems (getting enough food, conserving energy, etc.). What are some things you do throughout the day that crocodiles do in their own way as well?
Why are there so many nature documentaries like this one? What do we gain by making and watching nature documentaries?
How is watching nature documentaries about certain species better and/or worse in your opinion than going to the zoo?
TV Details
- Premiere date: August 2, 2021
- Network: Max
- Genre: Educational
- TV rating: NR
- Last updated: May 18, 2023
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