Blu-Ray Review: Disney’s ‘Earth’ Highlights Beauty of Mother Nature

CHICAGO – Writing about Disney’s nature documentary “Earth,” now available on Blu-Ray and DVD, is complicated because the movie itself contains undeniably beautiful imagery but, for a lot of people, it’s footage that they’ve seen before and the film never really registers as a complete experience. It’s a slice of nature mostly meant for children and, if you keep that in mind, it’s sometimes effective.

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0

For years, the words Disney and nature were closely associated. The house that Walt built won several Oscars for films that captured animals and their habitats in glorious detail. Keep in mind, that there was a time before the Discovery Channel when people could only see footage of the glory of our natural planet in theaters.

The legacy of Disney’s documentary branch is being rebooted by the newly restarted Disneynature company. Their first entry is the appropriately-titled “Earth,” a collection of footage of animals in their natural habitats narrated by James Earl Jones and loosely connected into a story about the seasons and heartwarming information about how animal parents take care of their young.

Earth was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on September 1st, 2009.
Photo credit: Walt Disney Home Video

There is undeniably beautiful, mesmerizing footage in “Earth” but anyone who has seen the incredibly popular “Planet Earth” has seen it before. Sometimes billed as a “companion piece” to “Planet Earth,” it’s hard to deny that Disneynature is pretty much just offering an edited version of the more complete experience. If you’ve seen “Planet Earth,” it’s hard to recommend “Earth”.

And if you haven’t seen “Planet Earth,” you really, really should. Both titles serve as evidence in the case that mother nature is still the best special effects house out there. Gorgeous waterfalls, stunningly large flocks of birds, and gigantic icebergs - the imagery is spectacular and tailor-made for HD.

If you can’t commit to the much-longer “Planet Earth” or have children that you’d like to introduce to the circle of life and the food chain of the natural world, then “Earth” is the right choice. Presented in 1080p High Definition with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, “Earth” looks stunning. Most of the imagery in “Earth” is breathtaking enough to see it again even if you saw it already in “Planet Earth”.

“Earth” is presented in one package containing the Blu-Ray and DVD version. The technical quality of the Blu-Ray release is nearly flawless. Special features include a picture-in-picture functionality that allows for information about the making of the movie and trivia to play without interrupting the film itself.

“Earth” is like hearing a few of the best songs from a more complete box set. The full experience is more rewarding but the songs can’t be criticized.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com