Earth movie

[ougrad86]

Not sure if this is the place to put this...

Just went to see the new Disney documentary. Disappointed to say the least :sad2:- rated G, but many graphic view of animals killing other animals. Yes, it is the circle of life, but it really focused on it many times. Slow motion footage of a shark with a seal in its mouth (twice over, same scene):scared1:, a terrified young elephant trying to run from lions ganging up on it, a polar bear driven by hunger trying to kill a walrus (did not end well for polar bear)...several parents left with terrified and sobbing young children because the G rating indicated it would be a little less graphic.
I want to write Disney, along with my friend and tell them how disappointed I am in this. I saw the Planet Earth documentary this was culled from, and although the killing was present, there was a great deal of wonderful footage that could have been used from the 10 hours. Trying to squish many killings in 90 minutes (hard to tell, power was out and resumed at a different point in movie) does not work:mad:.
Does anyone have an email address where I can send comments? They are advertising their new documentary Oceans, would love to see that but worried it might focus on nothing but sharks and whales killing each other...

[Dznefreek]

It is a rehash of the "Planet Earth " series . . .

[Angelrose]

Send your comments to

guest.services-disneyonline.com

Include all the details and your phone number in case they want to call you back for further details.

[Angelrose]

sorry wrong address.

guest.services@disneyonline.com

That's better.

[mom2val]

Last weekend my husband took our 8 year old to see this movie while I worked a PTA garage sale. She HATED this movie and cried while telling me about all the animals that died. She asked me why Daddy took her to see animals get killed.

[Mouseaholic!!!]

Oh my, this was on my TO DO list --- but scratched off now.

Yes, yes, I understand --- Mufasa explained it all years ago....but I can't watch animals being hurt.

Thank you for the warning.

[ThurlFan]

Perhaps the OP's beef is better directed at the MPAA for giving the film a G rating instead of perhaps PG if it's really that graphic/violent (I haven't seen it yet). And emailing Disney about their choice of content from the original series is indeed a good idea.

Having said that, one really should not be surprised to see animals eating other animals in a nature film - it's what many of them do.

[KidDurango]

Actually, the footage in this film was not taken from Planet Earth. It was shot concurrently as the team worked on Planet Earth, but it is new footage. I agree though that the rating is not Disney's to decide. The MPAA makes these decisions.

[ougrad86]

Wonder if they even bothered to watch it or figured documentary and Disney equals G rating.
As a girl, I watched the True Life Adventures and Mutual of Omaha and other documentaries. The killings were sad, but it was explained to me as a fact of life and the documentaries might show one killing in an hour. To have so many in such a short amount of time, showing long drawn out struggles and slow motion of such - that is not what I associate with Disney, and not what I thought this movie could have done.
Thank you for the address. I will write them and my friend wants the address as well so she can do the same. Luckily, out children are older, but they did not like the movie either.

[Gabrielsbigtrip]

The movie was nothing like I thought it would be and we took our 7 yr old Autistic son.

It was awful and they made it more awful by saying the mommy, the daddy and the baby when they talked about the families.

My son doesn't understand alot but he know exactly what was happening to the baby animals!!

I can't believe we actually paid to see it. I agree the gripe should probably be with whoever rates the film.

I guess my expectation was that it would be like Soarin with animals:confused3

[JimB.]

To each their own, I guess.....

I thought it was terrific & the cinematography was breathtaking.

If you want a happy happy joy joy animal movie, then stay away from anything remotely "true life".

Nature is, by & large, regardless of how it looks, not a fun place. Animals are concerned with 3 things:

1. Eating smaller animals (or plants)
2. Not getting eaten by larger animals
3. Making more of themselves

And that's about it.

[Love That Mouse]

To each their own, I guess.....

I thought it was terrific & the cinematography was breathtaking.

If you want a happy happy joy joy animal movie, then stay away from anything remotely "true life".

Nature is, by & large, regardless of how it looks, not a fun place. Animals are concerned with 3 things:

1. Eating smaller animals (or plants)
2. Not getting eaten by larger animals
3. Making more of themselves

And that's about it.

I couldn't agree more! Nature is violent. . . . Keep your kids away if anything says "true life". Most people would be able to synthesize that title to mean "not for the squeamish". I found it to be breathtaking and amazing! See it and you will NOT be disappointed!

[DisneyRose&Boys]

Actually, the footage in this film was not taken from Planet Earth. It was shot concurrently as the team worked on Planet Earth, but it is new footage. I agree though that the rating is not Disney's to decide. The MPAA makes these decisions.


Some of the footage might certainly be "original", but there was much of the film, EXACT scenes, in fact, that I had just seen with my students when we watched several of the DVDs from the Planet Earth boxed set.

The only difference I saw, to be honest, was that James Earl Jones narrated instead of the original narrator.

And why did I see Patrick Stewart's name associated with this movie?

Rose

[*NikkiBell*]

I went to see it over the weekend and walked out after 30-45 minutes. I thought it was awful and could not sit through the killings.

[jlewisinsyr]

I have not seen it yet, but plan to...I guess I'm on the side of "its a fact of life." I don't believe in sheltering kids or anyone from the truth. Sure, it might require explaining to a young child, but the younger you acllimate them to real life, the easier they'll have it. This is in no way a recommendation on how to raise your kids, but lets face it, I think the sheltering is part of the problems we have today.

Life isn't fair, people are mean, people die, animals die, unfortunately, there is suffering that goes along with it.

[DisDreaminMom]

But they didn't really show "the act", it always cut away right when the kill was going to happen. I thought it was brilliant how they cut the scene at the moment there would be blood. I thought it was incredible that they showed the polar bear scenes as well. I admit, I had to hide and cringe through various parts of it, but my kids, one almost 9 and the other and Autistic 6 yr old, both sat wide eyed through the whole thing. They talked for days about why it didn't bother them to see the shark scene but the mammals made them sad. I thought it was great.

Let's be honest with our kids. Animals are not "mean", they are just animals. The predator is never going to hold hands and go skipping down the lane with his prey. Walt understood this and used his films to show the "reality" in a way that children could understand. He did not sugar coat. Unless you live in some bubble bioshpere eating tofu and beans, your kids are going to figure out how the world works. I thought this film was an incredible segue to talking with my kids about various life issues and I'm glad I took them. Plus, the footage during the end credits was worth the price of admission.

[ougrad86]

The cinematography was breathtaking, the movie as a whole was excellent except for this focus on the predator and the prey. It is a fact of life - I loved the series on Discovery - but there were just too many packed into the space of time to make it as enjoyable as it could be. Although they did pull away before the sight of blood, the sight of a young elephant terrified out of his mind by the lions lunging and climbing on his back, the seal hanging out of the shark's mouth (twice, once in slow motion) are the two scenes that really seemed to elicit the most negative emotion from me. Death is a part of life - so is birth (only one shown) and mother/child relationships and the ability of the young animals to play (and even some of the older ones). More could have been focused on other parts of life, not just the predator/prey struggles.
I just wish they would have let people know before they bring young children in. I felt really bad for them. Think of the the G movies you have taken children too. Death is touched on lightly. Just let them know before they bring a 3, 4 or 5 year old. Nobody could mistake how terrified that little elephant was, and that is frightening for children to see. They will learn about it as they grow up. not have 5 or 6 killings (and other deaths such as the little lost elephant) in the space of time for this movie. My son is 13; he acknowledged the killings were sad but that he knew the realities of life in the wild. I am aware of them too, but I think it could have been handled better.
The only saving grace was that while the monkeys were crossing the river the power in the theater went out. When they got it up and running, we were in the middle of a dry scene with the elephants again. They handed out passes for another movie since this one had some scenes missed. No one intended to come back to see what they had missed.
True Life Adventures was not in the title - it was in the introduction of the movie. But True Life Adventures was never like this! But at least rate it properly, or somehow let people know what they are getting into. A G rating was not appropriate for this movie.

[MomofKatie]

But they didn't really show "the act", it always cut away right when the kill was going to happen.

ITA. The average nature show on Animal Planet has MUCH more graphic predator/prey violence (actual kills, big cats with blood all over their faces feeding on a carcass, etc). My DD was much more affected by the plight of the polar bear due to global warming than the very sanitized scenes of predators surviving by preying on other animals.

[eeyorethegreat]

This hasn't come to our small theater yet. I am hoping it does. I guess that I just assume that if a movie is called "nature" I expect there to be a focus on the predator and prey aspect. I have a son whose dream it is to work with wildlife and though he doesn't take pleasure in seeing one animal kill another he understands that it is a necessary part of life. I would always caution my children before going into a nature movie whether by Disney or not that nature can be fierce. Animals eat other animals, animals become sick and injured and die. Not all babies born survive etc. Kids often are of the belief that animals are cute and friendly and are friends. Take one of any number of children's books, TV shows or movies for an example, much of what is presented of animals/nature is not just "cutesied up" but inaccurate. So when they watch a show or movie of real nature in action they are startled just as much as the parents are.

OT: We had a (ground) nesting bird here recently my "wildlife" son had been observing they nest and taking photos from a distance so as not to disturb the birds. He was going to make a photo journal of the development of the eggs in the nest until the chicks left the nest. We had talked about how not all eggs hatch and that sometimes predators (including cats) will kill birds and chicks (not news to him). I didn't think to tell him that sometimes animals will eat eggs... Well guess what something got the eggs Mamma and Pappa bird were beside themselves and have now left the nest. I was so upset- I wanted to cry! My son wasn't happy but he said to me- it's nature's way mom sometimes these things happen.

[BayouMickey]

I find it funny how people forget that the old World of Disney series back in the 60's-70's showed documentaries like this all the time. It's nothing new.

[*NikkiBell*]

While I totally recognize that this is all just a part of the "circle of life" and some people many enjoy this type of film, I honestly did not find it to be entertainment. Sorry, but killings backed by dramatic music was not entertaining to me hence my leaving.

[mking624]

Actually, the footage in this film was not taken from Planet Earth. It was shot concurrently as the team worked on Planet Earth, but it is new footage.

Actually this is incorrect. Not only are some scenes exactly the ones shown on the show, the production team has said that the footage is all the same, just re-edited.

[mking624]

While I totally recognize that this is all just a part of the "circle of life" and some people many enjoy this type of film, I honestly did not find it to be entertainment. Sorry, but killings backed by dramatic music was not entertaining to me hence my leaving.

It wasn't meant purely for entertainment purposes. It's a documentary intended to show wildlife as they are in their natural habitats. Trust me, as an animal lover myself, it's really hard for me to watch any animal die, but at the same time I wouldn't go in to see a documentary like this and not expect it to happen.

[lugnut33]

I thought they did the scenes just like in the animated movies. As soon as the character was about die they cut away, just like when Gaston falls to his death. Or when Mustafa is killed.

Living in real nature is tough and that's what it shows.

[Gabrielsbigtrip]

I see everyone's point about it being a part of life. I loved watching the shows growing up that actually showed the animals eating their prey and I wasn't damaged by it.

There are many things in life that happen that are "part of life" and I would not want my child to see. I will explain those things when he is ready to understand (if ever - since I don't even understand some of it). Am I sheltering him too much? Maybe. Honestly, most of society IMO is desensitized. And I am not talking about being overly politically correct(which in that case we are wayyyy to sensitive)...I mean desensitized to violence and language and just plain being rude. I can't believe how mean people are to their children every single time we are out and about.

The movie isn't the problem - the Rating is.

Being Autistic my son doesn't understand ANYTHING very well and knowing that I would not have taken him to something like this.

In the future I will do more research and not just trust the rating.

I personally did like the Birds of Paradise. I think if the rest of the movie would have been more on that wavelength it would have been much more enjoyable for all.

[jlewisinsyr]

There are many things in life that happen that are "part of life" and I would not want my child to see. I will explain those things when he is ready to understand (if ever - since I don't even understand some of it). Am I sheltering him too much? Maybe. Honestly, most of society IMO is desensitized. And I am not talking about being overly politically correct(which in that case we are wayyyy to sensitive)...I mean desensitized to violence and language and just plain being rude. I can't believe how mean people are to their children every single time we are out and about.

I often struggle with this. I look to Europe who are much more liberal and yet their culture is much more stable and overall more accepting. I think being desensitized is a double edge sword, it offers less reaction to negativity but it also can generate complacency as well.

[Baloo2003]

Actually this is incorrect. Not only are some scenes exactly the ones shown on the show, the production team has said that the footage is all the same, just re-edited.

I agree. The end credits thanked the Planet Earth series.
I felt cheated in that I had already seen the full length of this for free on TV. I know that it was filmed in Hi-Def for the TV series, but I saw it in the IMAX format and it looked grainy in spots.

I love Disney and all it does, but I do complain that they have difficulty coming up with original stories anymore. They remake their live movies in the name of "for the new generation" (i.e., Darn Cat, Race to Witch Mountain, etc.), when I like the origianls better. Did anyone notice that Cars story was a lot like Doc Hollywood? The movie Earth was a blatant ripoff of the free TV series. I won't go see Oceans when it comes out.....been there, done that.

[eeyorethegreat]

Here are a couple places to review movies. The first one is a Christian site, it gives good insight/opinions into movies that one might be intending to see even if one isn't a Christian. I am, but I would still reccommend this site to non Christians because it will give you a good idea of some of the themes that you might not feel are appropriate for your children. http://www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/

This one as far as I know is not Christian based in its reviews. It basically reviews films with families in mind. http://www.parentpreviews.com/index.php

When I am wondering if a movie is appropriate for my family, I check both then take into consideration the reviews and what I think is appropriate for my family.

[ROEDISNEY]

I Loved the movie however I didn't like the killing of the animals. But it is the Circle of life. Can't wait to go see the 2010 one.

[LostBoy89]

All in all I thought the movie was alright. There was some great cinematography. BUT HOW COULD IT BE RATED G?! I was defiantely not expecting so much DEATH. I understand that it's a nature film, but seriously, death is what they mainly focused on. They definately should have thought about re rating it, especially for the parents who took their younger children to see it. I can understand why some would start crying. My favorite line went something like this..."the cubs probably wont make it through their first year." Isn't that heart warming? haha

[LostBoy89]

OH!!! IM SOOO EXCITED FOR OCEANS!!! Thats what I wanted to see more of in this movie.

[NHMom4]

I don't have time to read through all the pages before I head off for the day so maybe this has already been mentioned...when I saw the commercials here in NH there was a warning with the G rating. It said something to the effect of "graphic scenes may scare young viewers". That is when we decided we would pass. My guys cry at the ASPCA commercials with the lady from Lilth fair, Sarah Mc Lachlan.