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"EARTH" (2009) (Documentary) (G) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons None None None *Moderate None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Minor None Moderate None None Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence None None None Moderate *Moderate QUICK TAKE: Documentary: A look at animal and plant life on Earth over a one-year period, focusing on a trio of animals and their offspring. PLOT: As narrated by James Earl Jones, we view and are informed about a number of species of animals and plant life on Earth over the course of a year. In the arctic, there's a mother polar bear that's given birth to a pair of cubs, and they must contend, as does the father elsewhere, with the warming planet and thus melting ice cover that threatens to limit their ability to hunt. Further south, in the Kalahari desert, a mother elephant and her offspring are on an arduous trek with their herd to find a seasonal oasis in the middle of otherwise barren and sometimes dangerous lands filled with hungry lions. And continuing toward the other pole, a humpback whale and her offspring start off on an incredibly long migration toward Antarctica, a journey that's also filled with similar dangers, this time involving great white sharks. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're into animals and/or nature documentaries such as the TV series "Planet Earth," it's a good bet they will. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: G Apparently for not containing material to warrant a higher rating. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: No humans or fictional, non-human characters appear in the film (until the end credits when behind the scenes footage shows the crew at work). CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this G-rated documentary. Aside from a few moments where animals are in danger that might be unsettling for younger kids - be that predators chasing prey and going in for the mostly non-graphic kill, or others in danger of dying from other means -- the rest of the film contains some topics to talk about, but nothing else objectionable. That said, if you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, there's briefly some of that from lightning. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there are several fly-over, look down camera shots over waterfalls and such that might stir up some vertigo in some viewers. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE None. BLOOD/GORE None. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE None. FRIGHTENING SCENES While not any more graphic than what's seen on nature/animal documentary type shows on TV, the following might still be unsettling for some kids to see. The narrator comments on wolves being hungry, and we then see one in a prolonged chase after a caribou calf. There's a comment that as long as the calf can stay on its feet it has a good chance of outrunning the wolf. But it eventually stumbles and the wolf grabs it from behind and downs it, but we don't see the actual kill (all viewed from a high distance). Some kids might worry when a mother elephant and her calf are separated from their herd during a sandstorm that leaves the baby mostly blind, weak and thirsty for an oasis that's still a long ways off. We also see an older elephant calf that's gotten turned around and is headed in the wrong direction from its herd and that oasis (thus implying it will die, but that's neither addressed nor seen). All of that's seen from a long-distance aerial view. We see a slow-motion chase sequence where a cheetah chases a gazelle that eventually stumbles, thus allowing the cheetah to grab it and then deliver a fatal bite to the neck (the slow-motion aspect might make it more unsettling for some kids -- and maybe even some adults -- than if it had been shown at its normal speed). The narrator comments on the dangers for elephants being in the proximity of lions at a watering hole at night (since elephants can't see any better than humans in such conditions, but the lions can). We then see a lion grab a baby elephant, but the latter's mother comes charging and chases away the lion. We then see a different adult elephant trying to run away from a pride of lions that's attacking it from the rear, jumping onto and biting it. All of that goes out of the camera's view before any kill is made. Some cranes try to fly over a mountaintop, and there's talk about how dangerous this is for them in the high winds, but they make it. We see slow motion footage of great white sharks chasing and attacking seals, forcing and grabbing their prey up above the surface of the water. We hear that the dad polar bear could be lost at sea as he struggles to have sure footing while trying to walk across thin ice that breaks beneath him. We later see a view of the polar bear swimming in the open ocean and there's talk that if he doesn't find land, he'll drown. A hungry and weakened polar bear tries to kill several walruses, jumping on and biting them, but they're too big and their skin is too thick for him to do any serious damage. During one such encounter, another walrus appears to stab him with its tusks, and we later see the polar bear struggling to walk along, and it eventually lies down, presumably to die there. GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Get down, baby" and "Pungent public beach." The film might inspire some kids to go out with a digital or video camera and get shots or footage of animals or other nature. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A moderate amount of suspenseful and some heavily dramatic music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY None. SEX/NUDITY None. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES None. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT There's brief mention in several scenes of the ice warming in the arctic, thus endangering the polar bears. There's talk that the boreal conifer forest belt contains one-third of all trees on Earth. There's talk that the broadleaf forests of North America and Europe are mostly gone. The comment that rainforests only account for 3% of Earth's land mass, but contain half of the plant life on Earth. The comment that deserts make up one-third of Earth's land surface and that number is growing. The narrator's comment that most urban dwellers have lost touch with nature's circle of life. The comment that a baby humpback whale drinks 150 gallons of milk a day. The comment that the humpback whale has the longest aquatic migration of any species. VIOLENCE The following occurs in a standard, nature doing its thing fashion: The narrator comments on wolves being hungry, and we then see one in a prolonged chase after a caribou calf. There's a comment that as long as the calf can stay on its feet it has a good chance of outrunning the wolf. But it eventually stumbles and the wolf grabs it from behind and downs it, but we don't see the actual kill (all viewed from a high distance). We see a slow-motion chase sequence where a cheetah chases a gazelle that eventually stumbles, thus allowing the cheetah to grab it and then deliver a fatal bite to the neck (the slow-motion aspect might make it more unsettling for some kids -- and maybe even some adults -- than if it had been shown at its normal speed). The narrator comments on the dangers for elephants being in the proximity of lions at a watering hole at night (since elephants can't see any better than humans in such conditions, but the lions can). We then see a lion grab a baby elephant, but the latter's mother comes charging and chases away the lion. We then see a different adult elephant trying to run away from a pride of lions that's attacking it from the rear, jumping onto and biting it. All of that goes out of the camera's view before any kill is made. We see slow motion footage of great white sharks chasing and attacking seals, forcing and grabbing their prey up above the surface of the water. A hungry and weakened polar bear tries to kill several walruses, jumping on and biting them, but they're too big and their skin is too thick for him to do any serious damage. During one such encounter, another walrus appears to stab him with its tusks, and we later see the polar bear struggling to walk along, and it eventually lies down, presumably to die there. Reviewed April 16, 2009 / Posted April 22, 2009

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