The film's opening tone is typical for a Disney film about animals. The screen fills with majestic aerial views of desert dunes, birds swarming over lush forests and dolphins bursting from the sea. Instrumental music blares, highlighting the subtle movements of the wondrous creatures that frolic across the screen. As the sun careens over the smooth curve of our planet and the trademark of the famed nature television series, "Planet Earth," it is clear that the audience is about to witness something extraordinary.
But then, a startlingly familiar voice booms through the serene vista. The voice talks about the changing of the seasons and the circle of life, but it seems that what it should actually be saying is, "Luke, I am your father."
James Earl Jones narrates, with little to no heavy breathing, "Earth," the first film to come out of Disneynature, the Walt Disney Company's newest subsidiary. Directed by Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield of "Planet Earth," the film follows the long journeys of three animal families as they struggle to survive for one more year.
In typical Disney fashion, the film begins lightheartedly, following a mother polar bear and her two newborn cubs as well as the cubs' father who has gone to the ice to find food. There is an immediate bond between audience members and the angelic faces of the cubs. The film exploits this emotional vulnerability, ultimately revealing the devastating plight of the polar bear.
Even more heart-wrenching is the second family of focus: a mother elephant and her baby crossing the dry, cracked plains of Africa. The pair struggles to keep up with the rest of the herd as they travel for weeks across barren lands in a desperate search for water.
Finally, the film zooms in on a Humpback mother and child on their quest from the warm tropical waters of the calf's birth to feeding grounds in the Antarctic. Pushing through raucous waves, the pair fights to stay together as they travel through thousands of miles of open sea.
Each family struggles to complete its journey -- dodging predators, scrounging for food and braving harsh conditions. Audience members laugh and cry, eyes glued to the high-definition screen and perfectly detailed, awe-inspiring shots. Even though the animals aren't animated and don't talk, the brilliant editing and direction make each sequence emotionally charged. Each lion could be Simba, and each bear could be Baloo.
The most brilliant aspect of the film, however, is how it manages to stay G-rated. Yes, that means no sex and no violence -- even in the animal kingdom. The cheetah chases down the flailing gazelle and puts its enormous paws around its neck: cut. The wolf plucks a baby bison from its herd: cut. No blood or guts, just pretty flowers and heartwarming stories of perseverance. There is, of course, one single, solitary death scene, but it is so sweetly poetic that it's almost sickening.
Interspersed among the three linear stories are astounding shots of a variety of landscapes across the globe. Many "Planet Earth" enthusiasts will recognize certain sequences, as the film has a kind of "Best of Planet Earth" feel to it, but there is still a great deal of new footage to enjoy.
The only problem with cramming thousands of hours of "Planet Earth" footage into one feature-length film is that the large number of stereotypically spectacular aerial shots gets repetitive. Goats on a field looking like lice crawling on a five-year-old's scalp are only so entertaining.
Jones' lively commentary stays entertaining throughout, once the viewer can stop picturing Darth Vader behind the scene narration. Jones successfully blurs the line between narration and storytelling, making the animals' journeys that much more vivid for the viewer.
Compared to the typical IMAX nature film, "Earth" does surprisingly little proselytizing about global warming and how to stop it. The film takes an interesting stance, saying that this is how the natural world is today. It's getting harder and harder for animals to live the way they have in the past because our world is changing. It is clear, however, that we can do our part to try and stop what is happening, but "Earth" avoids being a 90-minute guilt trip.
Instead, "Earth" is a celebration of life. Each animal in the film inspires a kind of renewed hope within the viewer. Seeing something as simple but incredible as a duckling learning to fly for the first time makes all the concerns of human life seem trivial. The incredibly moving and detailed footage in "Earth" will make any viewer feel privileged to have seen it.
