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 - 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), 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.
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

 

[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.