By John Mulderig
Catholic News Service

NEW YORK (CNS) — At once a stunning portrait of the natural world and a subtle plea for environmental responsibility, “Earth,” the first feature from Walt Disney Studios’ new label, Disneynature, is also a gripping animal adventure story suitable for all but the very youngest family members.

In this big-screen adaptation of their multiple Emmy Award-winning television series, “Planet Earth,” which first aired on the BBC in 2006, co-directors Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield make the most of high-definition technology to chronicle a year in the lives of a variety of wild animals.

The primary focus is on three epic struggles for survival, as a polar bear battles the glacier-shrinking effects of global warming to feed her newborns; an elephant guides her fragile calf across the Kalahari Desert in search of fresh water; and a humpbacked whale and her cub undertake a 4,000-mile migration from the tropics to Antarctica.

Though presented on a majestic scale — with filming locations as far-flung as Norway, Botswana and New Guinea — “Earth” engages viewers’ sympathy for these individual animal families.

Dramatic airborne shots of a flock of demoiselle cranes fighting huge wind currents to cross the Himalayas and a slow-motion sequence in which a shark closes in on its prey vary with more light-hearted fare, such as the eccentric mating dance of a bird of paradise in the depths of an equatorial rain forest.

The U.S. bishops’ Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-I — general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is G — general audiences. All ages admitted.

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