Los Angeles Times
"[F]ocused on the trials of three animal families....Though these three family groupings get star billing, EARTH has room for other animals as well, including several kinds of birds, baboons for comic relief and all those caribou." 04/22/2009USA Today
"[T]he visual results are spectacular....Well worth seeing. Its depiction of the natural world is breathtaking and the animals and their behavior compelling." 04/23/2009 Chicago Sun-Times
3 stars out of 4 -- "What we see is astonishing....EARTH is filled with unexpected facts....Beautiful and worthwhile..." 04/22/2009 Box Office
3.5 stars out of 5 -- "To watch the majesty of a shark snapping up a seal, or a panoramic time lapse of a field of trees blooming in spring and crumbling in winter, is to be struck by the fragility of life." 04/20/2009 Hollywood Reporter
"EARTH's main virtue is its consistently spectacular cinematography. From the opening shots of white snow against a crisp blue sky, the images are rendered with dazzling, crystalline clarity." 04/17/2009 Wall Street Journal
"[A] gigantic collage of energy -- animals ceaselessly on the move in a planetary evolution that proceeds apace....The spectacle is stirring." 04/24/2009 ReelViews 7 of 10
It requires only four words to describe Earth: glorious photography, annoying narration. Essentially, Earth is a blown up (for the big screen), dumbed-down (for a young audience) version of the spectacular TV mini-series, Planet Earth. There's no question that, given the option, Planet Earth is the way to go. This movie will do in a pinch, however, and it is impressive - provided you find a way to block out the voiceovers. The stentorian tones of James Earl Jones (who provides the narration for the North American release; Patrick Stewart does the honors for the U.K. version) lend a degree of gravitas to the verbiage that the words don't deserve. Disney seems determined to transform an epic of nature into a live-action cartoon...Despite the negatives related to the narration, Earth is simply too spectacular to pass up because of poor choices made by the film's shapers. For those who can put aside James Earl Jones' voice, it's easy to get lost in the majesty of the imagery, and some of the most amazing selections from Planet Earth have been chosen. The time-lapse photography and aerial shots provide images that rival or exceed the most breathtaking special effects sequences in big-budget Hollywood pictures. Seeing this material on a big screen injects an element of grandeur absent from the home viewing experience. Earth is not a replacement for the mini-series; it exists as a companion piece - a way to repackage a product that deserves to be appreciated by as wide an audience as possible. This is an appetizer; those who like what they see can seek out the entire meal, which (especially in high-def) offers a more thorough and amazing experience than what is on offer here. - James Berardinelli
San Francisco Chronicle 8 of 10
For children, Disney's eco-documentary "Earth" hits all the right notes: The planet is inhabited by friendly creatures who want little more than to find food and play with their cubs. Mama elephants and daddy polar bears are anthropomorphized to the point of carnival stuffed animals; wolves and lynx are the villainous predators...Narrated by James Earl Jones, it even has a fatherly voice to explain topics as complex as New Guinea's ecosystem and a warm tone to narrate a baby duck's first attempted flight. The wonder and joy in Jones' voice eclipse all memories of Darth Vader...Yet, after the film follows a polar bear on its hunt for food, an elephant's quest for water and a humpback whale's journey for shrimp, a formula is established. And the adventures of the Earth's species are suddenly less novel than they are similar...For adults, "Earth" misses the mark of riveting storytelling. "Earth" crams in the dramatic adventures of several species (including penguins) - with the result that it comes up short on telling one really good story. Even so, the visual footage in "Earth" is breathtaking. While Jones' script only hints that global warming could end this paradise, the Disney film can't resist a happy ending. - Justin Berton
Chicago Sun-Times 9 of 10
Made between 1948 and 1960, Walt Disney's "True Life Adventures" won three Oscars for best documentary feature, and several other titles won in the since-discontinued category of tworeel short features. Now the studio has returned to this admirable tradition with "earth," It's a film that younger audiences in particular will enjoy...To be sure, Disney didn't produce the movie. It is a feature-length compilation from the splendid BBC and Discovery Channel series "Planet Earth," using the big screen to make full use of its high-def images. The feature's original narrator, Patrick Stewart, has been replaced by James Earl Jones...In the tradition of such favorites of my childhood as Disney's "The Living Desert" and "The Vanishing Prairie," the narration provides these animals with identities. It opens with a mother polar bear and her two cubs. The desperate polar bear is identified as their father, although I will bet a shiny new dime that the authors of the narration have absolutely no evidence of the bear's paternal history. I'm not complaining; in a film like this, that goes with the territory..."Earth" is filled with unexpected facts. Did you know the fir trees beginning at the northern tree line circle the globe with an almost unbroken forest, harbor almost no birds and mammals because they are not edible, and supply more of the planet's oxygen than the rain forests? Or that baby whales have to be taught to breathe?...This "Earth" is beautiful and worthwhile. At its pre-opening press screening, co-sponsored by the Lincoln Park Zoo, we were supplied not with free popcorn but tiny evergreens to take home and plant. - Roger Ebert
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