Review by Justin Bateman
UK certification E | UK RRP £12.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 104 minutes
Some of the more recent National Geographic DVD releases have simply been old TV programmes repackaged so it's good to see some new films using the latest technology. Using HD cameras, slowing down the action from the animal kingdom and combining it with animation, in Animal Impact National Geographic provides an interesting insight into how creatures work from the inside out.
In Surviving the Jungle, we get to see some truly astonishing feats including the basilisk, a lizard which can walk on water using a unique running technique, a flying snake which uses its body to float to safety, and the fastest tongue in the jungle, that of the chameleon. It's fascinating stuff and beautifully shot too.
Surviving the Savannah is a slightly drier episode, in every sense, with more familiar animals in the spotlight. As the creatures involved are bigger and on the whole more dangerous, there is necessarily less close-up work which reduces the wow factor present in the jungle film. However, there's still some good analysis including ground squirrels which flick their tails to confuse rattlesnakes and the technicalities inherent in a woodpecker pecking. There's also a brief bit of 'eagle-cam' which sadly isn't exploited to its full potential.
Overall, it's a decent pair of wildlife documentaries with a definite scientific bent, the animations neatly backing up the HD footage. For this reason though it's all a bit mechanical, unemotional and for much of the time lacks a narrative, something that would give it that extra special something.
EXTRAS None