EARTH (Movie Review by Melissa A. Bartell)
There’s no doubt about it: if you want people to stay awake through a nature film, you should hire James Earl Jones to narrate the picture. That’s what DisneyNature, the new nature film division of the Walt Disney Corp., did with their first wide release offering, Earth, and it worked incredibly well.
Earth is essentially an episode of Discovery Channel staple Planet Earth expanded for the wide screen. It follows three families of animals: polar bears, elephants, and humpback whales, through one year on Earth, stopping along the way to share the impacts of global warming on their habitats, and offering side trips into other animal families as well, including geese and wolves.
While some of the footage may be familiar to devout nature show fans, the presentation was both compelling and beautiful. Wide screen televisions have nothing over the silver screen, especially when polar bear cubs are concerned.
Jones’ narration is subtle, and manages to charm without being overly cutesy, and the movie itself was satisfying, imparting it’s message without straying into overdone preachiness.
Suitable for all ages, this film is currently in wide release in North American markets.
Melissa A. Bartell likes strong coffee, red wine, and dark chocolate. She earns her living writing web-copy for an Internet marketing firm & dabbles in fiction on the side. She lives near Dallas, TX with her husband, two dogs, and more computers than anyone really needs. She is the Managing Editor here at All Things Girl. Find out more about her on our About Page, or check out her blog at MissMeliss.com
