April 29, 2009

Moving documentary ‘Earth’ a gripping animal adventure story

By John Mulderig

NEW YORK (CNS)—At once a stunning portrait of the natural world and a subtle plea for environmental responsibility, “Earth,” the first feature from Walt Disney Studios’ new label, Disneynature, is also a gripping animal adventure story suitable for all but the very youngest family members.

In this big-screen adaptation of their multiple Emmy Award-winning television series, “Planet Earth,” which first aired on the BBC in 2006, co-directors Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield make the most of high-definition technology to chronicle a year in the lives of a variety of wild animals. Actor James Earl Jones provides his usual resonant narration, while the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra performs composer George Fenton’s stirring score.

The primary focus is on three epic struggles for survival, as a polar bear battles the glacier-shrinking effects of global warming to feed her newborns; an elephant guides her fragile calf across the Kalahari Desert in search of fresh water; and a humpbacked whale and her cub undertake a 4,000-mile migration from the tropics to Antarctica.

Though presented on a majestic scale—with filming locations as far-flung as Norway, Botswana and New Guinea—“Earth” engages viewers’ sympathy for these individual animal families, especially in scenes where a pride of lions attacks the elephant herd and the polar bear’s starving mate makes a desperate foray against a gathering of seals. While the filmmakers are careful to cut away from any fatal results, the suspense and violence might still prove too frightening for small children.

Dramatic airborne shots of a flock of demoiselle cranes fighting huge wind currents to cross the Himalayas and a slow-motion sequence in which a shark closes in on its prey vary with more light-hearted fare, such as the eccentric mating dance of a bird of paradise in the depths of an equatorial rain forest.

While eschewing any outright political message, simply by its portrayal of the beauty and delicacy of creation “Earth” highlights the need for a renewed sense of careful human stewardship over nature, something the Vatican has been calling for with increasing urgency in recent years.

This moving documentary also provides virtually unobjectionable entertainment, with nothing more troublesome than a few effectively bleeped exclamations during a series of outtakes shown with the closing credits.

The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-I—general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is G—general audiences. All ages admitted.

John Mulderig is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. More reviews are available online at usccb.org/movies.