Mix the grave but clear message of An Inconvenient Truth with the alternatively raw and cute look at wildlife of La marche de l'empereur (March of the Penguins) and you will get Earth, a bona fide documentary hit.

Shot over 4,500 days in 200 spots around the world, the film dazzles with the wonders of our planet.

A feature-film condensation of last year's blockbusting BBC nature series Planet Earth - but, in a somewhat spineless move, it has been shorn of David Attenborough's breathy tones and given instead those of Patrick Stewart.

If Aunty Beeb could stick to productions of this quality, she wouldn't be in such a mess. Earth's script may grate with anyone over 12, but you can't help but be impressed by what you see.

Highlights include the joyful footage of a polar bear tobogganing in the snow; baboons cautiously tiptoeing through floodwater, their hairy arms flailing for balance; and magnificent humpbacked whales gorging themselves on krill.