Disney and Discovery Team Up for ‘Earth’
April 30, 2009 • By Drew Beggs, The Breeze
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Cute animals. Powerful predators. Stunning vistas.
All in a day’s work for Disney and Discovery in their feature length film “Earth,” an adaptation of the Discovery TV show “Planet Earth.”
Narrated by one of the world’s scariest voices, James Earl Jones, the script still leaves much to be desired. Apart from obvious observations, there is only the occasional interesting fact, so stay focused on the video, and not the sound.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, “Earth” follows a myriad of animal families, from polar bears to elephants to humpback whales, over the course of one year, along migrations and hunting trips.
The movie’s strength stems from the landscapes which are nothing short of stunning. Aerial views of millions of birds flying in concert, tornadoes snaking across the desolate Kalahari Desert and the cold quiet of the Boreal forest provide more than enough breathtaking moments to keep the audience occupied. There is even the occasional Jurassic Park moment as cameras pan across awe-inspiring waterfalls and deep green plains, where a brontosaurus wouldn’t look out of place.
Time-lapse recordings are prevalent throughout the film, but just as it’s being over done, the filmmakers show you something truly impressive: seasonal changes from outer space.
While most of the footage is of land, one segment does focus on the oceans, as a mother humpback whale and her calf migrate thousands of miles from the tropics to the food abundant Antarctic waters. The pair swims past pods of dolphins flipping out of the waves and groups of sailfish pushing 70 mph as they tear through kaleidoscope schools of fish.
During the life-or-death chases, the audience is torn between rooting for the predator and dearly hoping that the cute little prey gets away. With a PG rating, Disney ends every chase before the real bloodletting begins.
Disney movie or not, there are two particularly graphic and tense scenes: the elephants with the lions, and the polar bear with the walruses.
Not to give too much away, but for anyone wondering, yes, lions hunting elephants in the pitch dark of night is absolutely terrifying. No less tense is watching a hungry polar bear attempt to hunt a walrus in vain. The realization that he is going to starve to death is a hard one to swallow.
Immediately cut to scenes of elephants and whales frolicking in the water and then roll the credits. For a movie that is overall so well put together, the end falls on its face pretty hard.
Inevitably, a lot of adorable and cuddly animals get eaten: a caribou calf, a caterpillar, an unclear number of elephants and three seals. But that’s the circle of life. Every once in awhile the cute things get eaten, and every once in awhile the predator goes hungry.
Contact Drew Beggs at breezearts@gmail.com
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