Reviewed by Neil Davey
Stars Polar bears, elephants, lions, penguins, humpback whales, cheetahs, walruses and other creatures
Narrated by Patrick Stewart
Written by Alastair Fothergill & Mark Lindfield
Certification UK PG
Runtime 99 minutes
Directed by Alastair Fothergill & Mark Lindfield
Fans of BBC nature programmes — and there are millions of those — have a treat in store with Earth. While much of the footage will be familiar to such fans, watching it in crystal clear definition on the big screen won’t be and it’s astonishing to see.
It’s a simple structure, as the audience and the BBC’s enormously dedicated film crews follow the sun — and assorted mothers — over one ‘day’. It starts with three polar bears, a mother and her two cubs making their first journey outside and searching for food before the ice melts. It then follows an elephant and her calf as they cross the Kalahari in search of water. Finally, it’s a humpback whale, attempting to keep her calf safe on a 6000km migration to Antarctica. In between, there are glances sideways at other animal life, including an unforgettable, eye-popping look at Papua New Guinea’s quite incredible birds of paradise and their courtship routines.
That description probably doesn’t do the film justice so maybe these facts will. The film crews — 40 in total — visited more than 200 locations and 26 countries and it took over five years to complete. That’s a huge undertaking, but one that’s clearly worth it. And one that has a very important message at its core: unless we do something soon, then many of the species and land masses on display will cease to exist within 20 years. If the beauty of this film doesn’t convince people to switch off a few lights, join a car pool and recycle more, then there’s no hope for us.