Earth 2007

Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies: It is as beautiful a film as I've seen in some time. Read more

David Fear, Time Out: Nature can be cruel, children, but damned if it isn't seriously photogenic. Read more

Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader: [The directors] know how to craft a sequence (lions and elephants uneasily drinking at the same water hole), have an eye for the telling shot (baboons mincing across a flood plain), and mercifully avoid making the fauna look human. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: Earth succeeds well enough as spectacle. Read more

Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic: It's such a joy to see this footage on the big screen -- even better than hi-definition TV -- that you may want to suffer the slings and arrow of an outrageous soundtrack just for the opportunity to see what's on the screen. Read more

Janice Page, Boston Globe: This Earth doesn't really have anything new to say, but it does present some newly entertaining ways of saying it. Read more

Amy Nicholson, Boxoffice Magazine: Our responsibility to protect this ecosystem underscores every image; watching is submission to our call of duty. Yet, Earth feels compromised where Planet Earth was not Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: What it does well is so remarkable that by the time the credits roll you likely won't want it to end. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: For most of the way this is an eye-popping, not blood-curdling, experience. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: This is a film that doesn't know when to shut up and gaze in wonder. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Spectacularly photographed, gracefully edited, and effectively matter-of-fact in demonstrating the effects of of climate change. Read more

Cary Darling, Dallas Morning News: Directors Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield mostly avoid speaking directly of social issues. Instead, they let the visuals and the animals' plights underscore the importance of maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: The beauty of the landscape, the beauty of the animals, it's all irresistible. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: For a round-the-world trip, it feels a bit like a budget bus tour. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: When a subject is as big as all outdoors, the big screen has some advantages. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: As a virtual tour of what Earth Day is about, kids ought to be entranced. If it helps them get greener, even better. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: A wide-screen wildlife documentary in which the cycles of birth and death, migrations and seasons, are captured in stunning -- absolutely stunning -- ways. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: 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. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: This Earth is beautiful and worthwhile. Read more

Justin Berton, San Francisco Chronicle: 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. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: A splendid wildlife documentary. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The many filmmakers spent five years on this impressive project. They've given us glorious images of an Earth that most of us have never seen. Let's hope that the means to understand it will be included on the DVD. Read more

Stephen Cole, Globe and Mail: As a spectacle Disney's Earth is right out of this world. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Think of Earth as being akin to a greatest-hits collection of a beloved rock band. The context is gone, but the reason for the renown remains. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Earth is at its best when it goes beyond presenting awe-inspiring beauty to elicit a sense of wonder and empathy for our fellow creatures and of global responsibility toward our fragile planet. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: A gorgeously photographed storybook. Read more