This weekend, thanks to my mom, I got to spend part of a beautiful Spring Saturday afternoon in a dark movie theater, along with my wife & son, watching the new Disney Nature Film, EARTH. Narrated by James Earl Jones (Darth Vader to my son) the movie has the same tone that many of us know from our childhood watching Wild Kingdom with Marlin Perkins. You know, where you start in one season and place, and you travel around seeing all sorts of stuff, only to come full circle at the same place you started.
The big difference between the wildlife shows of the ’70’s and ’80’s is by far the quality of the photography. And as seen on the big screen, this movie surely doesn’t disappoint. There are some excellent time-lapse trolley dissovle shots of the changing seasons in what looks like the New England White Mountain Forests. There’s also a bunch of really great aerial shots, including a superbly impressive shot of the arctic caribou migration. My personal favorite was a shot going over the edge of, and spinning back to reveal the height of Angel Falls.
From a professional photographers perspective, you can also tell when they’ve paid homage to several noted still photographers in two particular shots. The first was the underwater shot of the elephants swimming in the flooded Okavongo Delta. Another, which was also my son’s favorite scene, was of the airborne attack on seals by the Great White Sharks of South Africa. There were two back to back shots of these powerful attacks, each captured in stunning detail and slow motion. You could see perfectly the seal half in the shark’s mouth, and almost hear in your imagination, the bones crunching as those massive jaws came down on its prey. I whispered to my mom, “Some seals were harmed during the filming of this movie.” (A rebuttal to the PETA statements commonly placed at the end of many movies featuring animals.)
True to life, this portrait of earth included a number of species and locations, but like any limited film could only show snippets from each, but they were all very powerful images. Other noteworthy scenes included elephants and lions sharing a watering hole with a delicate detente, a flock of cranes flying over the Himalaya, and of course, the clip we all see on TV of the ducklings leaping out of their tree nest.
If you have a chance to see this on the big screen, I would recommend it. I remember thinking throughout the movie that I can’t wait for the DVD so I could see the “making of” special feature. Fortunately, the film makers included a few such clips during the closing credits. In all, a very worthy effort, with great photography that is sure to be appreciated.
