While some sports enthusiasts view college football season, professional baseball season, or March Madness basketball as their favorite annual period, for cinephiles like myself, it is Summer Movie Season, with a shiny new “event film” released every week, that I anticipate with bated breath. I actually find myself whistling, “It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” on my way to the movie theatre. Perhaps you, like me, relish the awesome spectacle, the breath-catching excitement, the jaw-dropping visuals, and the memorable characters which Hollywood expertly provides from May to August.
Based on those criteria, this summer's lineup will be hard-pressed to beat the most unlikely of blockbusters: Disneynature's Earth . I warn you: you'll be kicking yourself if you miss it on the big screen.
I hesitate to categorize the film as a documentary, because that conjures to mind adjectives such as “dry” and “boring.” But I tell you, here and now, there may not be another film this year that so effectively seizes your sense of wonder and thrills you while simultaneously engaging your mind and soul.
It shouldn't come as any surprise: the Hollywood machine, capable as it is of producing fantastic tales and likable heroes, cannot touch the raw power of Creation. The film is a 90-minute version of the incredible BBC miniseries “Planet Earth” and what the film version lacks in the miniseries' thoroughness, it makes up for in a breathless pace that relentlessly transports you all over the world (as any great adventure film should).
It seems that every five minutes your eyes are dazzled by a new location (which you'll likely never visit) and thrilled by the exploits of rare and mesmerizing creatures (which you may never see in the flesh). Even the familiar animals are captured in rare and exciting motion, such as the coordinated attack of a pride of lions on a giant elephant, the base-jumping of baby ducks from great heights, and Great White Sharks leaping high out of the water in pursuit of seals.
The footage is, quite simply, some of the most stunning ever captured on film, in any genre (as a special treat, stay through the credits for a “making of” vignette that's as entertaining as the movie). For example, this is the first time aerial photography has ever been captured of Mount Everest , as the altitude has made it impossible until now. That alone makes the film worth watching, but the fact is that the movie is full of vistas that simply demand to be taken in on the big screen , such as the majestic rainforests of South America .
What's more, earth works as a riveting drama, following three families (polar bears, humpback whales, and African elephants) as they try to survive predators, climate change, and the search for food, over the course of one year. I found myself invested in the survival of these animals as much or more than any fictional character, due at least in part to clever editing and skillful narration by James Earl Jones. More importantly: the struggles, failures, and triumphs of the Lord's creations on His canvas makes for a terrific blockbuster.
Earth is Rated G and shies away from graphic violence; however, some scenes of peril may be too intense for very young children.
