earth

Goolphipp Award: 3.75

Audience: All Ages

Goolsby: Who doesn’t want to see our furry friends? Bring the whole gang and wait for the collective “Awww” to overtake you all.

Phipps: There’s nothing to worry about for little kids in this one. It’s landscapes and happy animals mostly. There are a few predators, and they only show them getting their prey a couple times, without blood and ripping flesh. So moms, cart your little ones to this movie!

Where’s the Objectivity: Solid
Following a couple animal families through a calendar year.

Phipps: Literally, the circle of life in the frame of the year. Not much else to say. I liked this documentary, which is saying a lot. I’m not the biggest animal fan. But I thought it was presented fairly truthfully and straightforward. I was like a little boy though, I wanted to see the lion shred up an elephant – but I also understand that it was a Disney movie. I was surprised that there wasn’t more overtly liberal. I’m happy to report that it stayed with the facts, and made one comment at the very end. A very solid documentary based on the “Planet Earth” series.

Goolsby: From top to bottom of the planet you get a good overview of how the animal kingdom thrives mostly unbeknownst to us, and definitely unbeknownst to the kids. The facts are presented in a very accessible simple and straight forward form to the kids, who are the real target audience.

Cinematography: Gorgeous

Goolsby: Pristine. Stay for the credits to get a look at the difficulties some of the cinematographers’ had – lets just say, balloon chair meets tree, ouch. Thanks guys for getting dirty and most likely injured to deliver this timeless feature.

Phipps: Just beautiful. Great shots. They did a good job in the editing room, as this movie was a splice-and-dice of the “Planet Earth” footage. Word on the street is it took a month to get the shark shots, and I must say, it was well worth it.

Delivery: No Complaints

Phipps: James Earl Jones – you can’t beat him, ever. He’s got that voice. One small complaint, there was an overuse of the word “starving.” It was a little annoying, but other than that, no complaints.

Goolsby: Now Phipps thinks that the use of “starving” was a bit overdone – I however feel that the word “starving” is one of the few words that really conveys an animal’s true hunger. For kids, and even adults, we have many feelings of hunger. From, “I could go for a cookie,” to I-haven’t-eaten-all-day-stomach-pains, we have a wider base of hunger. But for animals, I think it’s a bit different, especially with their food resources growing limited. I think “starving” conveys primal hunger efficiently. So I’m okay with the use of the word starving – kids can identify with it.

Phipps overall: 4
Solid.

Goolsby overall: 3.5
A good documentary.

Goolphipp rating: 3.75 (No Peanuts Chucked)

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