What this is, in fact, is the live-action version of the opening of The Lion King, celebrating the 'circle of life.'
Earth (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 80
Fresh: 68
Rotten:12
Average Rating: 7.1/10
Consensus: With its spectacular and extensive footage, Earth is both informative and entertaining.
Theatrical Release:Apr 22, 2009 Wide
Box Office: $31,769,776
Synopsis: Partially constructed from the groundbreaking BBC and Discovery Channel television series PLANET EARTH, EARTH is a ravishing and often gut-wrenching tale of natural survival and beauty. Five years... Partially constructed from the groundbreaking BBC and Discovery Channel television series PLANET EARTH, EARTH is a ravishing and often gut-wrenching tale of natural survival and beauty. Five years in the making (including 250 days of aerial footage shot from planes, helicopters, and two-man balloons) and narrated by actor James Earl Jones, EARTH follows the trials of three families of polar bears, elephants, and whales. Though separated by seasons and continents, each family will cross great lengths and confront numerous hardships: for the Arctic polar bears, it is an increasingly warming planet that melts the ice they need for a hunting platform; for the African elephants, hot desert conditions and hungry predators will stand in the way of reaching a lush delta; and for the Pacific humpback whales, their Antarctic migration will be fraught with rough waters and great white sharks. Along the way, EARTH takes us on a global tour of nature in all its colorful splendor and harrowing moments--from windswept tundra to teeming rainforests, from cheetahs running down their prey to ducklings taking first flight. And as each family struggles towards their much-needed feeding grounds, directors Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield ultimately show us that nature can be equally giving and unforgiving. Educational but never preachy, EARTH is an unprecedented invitation for adults and children alike to experience the everyday natural wonders that deserve our awe and safeguarding. [More]
Director: Alastair Fothergill, Mark Linfield
Director: Alastair Fothergill, Mark Linfield
Screenwriter: Leslie Megahey, Alastair Fothergill, Mark Linfield
Producer: Alix Tidmarsh, BBC Worldwide, Greenlight Media
Composer: George Fenton
Studio: Disneynature
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Reviews for Earth
Earth caters to a younger audience, keeping its biological and environmental lessons at a basic level of understanding.
...if not exactly innovative, at least breathtaking on a how-in-the-world-did-they-get-that-shot level.
Setting new standards in precision wildlife photography, "Earth" remains little more than eye candy. A Playboy magazine of the planet earth.
Disney puts truth in the drawer claiming that "changing weather patterns" cause drying rainforests, when it's the destruction of the rainforest that is causing the changing weather patterns.
I didn't learn anything but it's fun, which I didn't expect. Animals do stuff. I don't see how it's an overall ecosystem but whatever.
The production values of this film are very good, but it wanders away from its three main storylines often enough that it may not hold the attention of children.
EARTH opens with a dazzling scene of the planet from space and then flits around the globe to give us equally astonishing shots of animals in survival mode and at play.
For most of the way this is an eye-popping, not blood-curdling, experience.
This film is for those so buried in gadgets and The Gap that the Earth, at its roots, has become something foreign.
Don't let the fact that this film is re-edited from existing footage stop you from seeing it. It is quite simply breathtaking on the large screen.
... the images that are captured by the filmmakers are so stunning and breathtaking that you would really be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't see them up on the big screen.
For a generation too young to remember National Geographic specials and Disney's True-Life Adventures, [this] should be an exciting journey through our natural world.
[The directors] know how to craft a sequence (lions and elephants uneasily drinking at the same water hole), have an eye for the telling shot (baboons mincing across a flood plain), and mercifully avoid making the fauna look human.
For adults, Earth misses the mark of riveting storytelling. Earth crams in the dramatic adventures of several species (including penguins) -- with the result that it comes up short on telling one really good story.
Directors Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield mostly avoid speaking directly of social issues. Instead, they let the visuals and the animals' plights underscore the importance of maintaining a healthy ecosystem.
Latest News for Earth
May 25, 2009:
A gorgeously photographed nature documentary that doesn't have enough happy moments and has far too many tragic ones. ![]()
More...
April 23, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Fighting Is Down For The Count
This week at the movies, weve got bare-knuckle bouts (Fighting, starring Channing Tatum and Terrence Howard), the wonders of nature (Earth, narrated by James Earl Jones), a... More...
April 23, 2009:
Box Office Guru Preview: Don't You Dare Mess with Beyoncé's Man
The environment needs saving so Hollywood is doing its part to go green by opening recycled versions of Fatal Attraction and Fight Club in hopes of attracting young adults. In a... More...
May 05, 2008:
Trailer & Poster Review ![]()
More...
Related Forums for Earth
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie | Date |
|---|---|---|
96% 96% |
Harry Potter and the H… | 7/15 |
100% 100% |
500 Days of Summer | 7/17 |
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G-Force | 7/24 |
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The Ugly Truth | 7/24 |
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Orphan | 7/24 |
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