Advanced Search >
Help Me Search

Movies

Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
Best / Worst of the Decade

Wide Releases
Now In Theaters

sort by namesort by score

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Limited Releases
Now In Theaters

sort by namesort by score

52 [Rec] 2
xx 12th & Delaware
xx 180° South
90 45365
55 8: The Mormon Proposition
xx Accidents Happen
62 After the Cup: The Sons of Sakhnin United
36 After.Life
73 Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector, The
55 Agora
82 Ajami
77 Alamar
78 Anton Chekhov's The Duel
63 Around a Small Mountain
57 Audrey the Trainwreck
xx Badmaash Company
xx Barking Water
75 Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo
62 Behind the Burly Q
63 Best Worst Movie
31 Black Waters of Echo's Pond, The
35 Boogie Woogie
64 Breath Made Visible: Anna Halprin
xx Brotherhood
24 Burzynski
51 Butcher's Son, The
xx Ca$h
67 Cairo Time
59 Cartel, The
68 Casino Jack and the United States of Money
37 Charlie St. Cloud
xx Cheech & Chong's Hey Watch This
48 Chloe
66 City Island
52 City of Your Final Destination, The
56 Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky
58 Concert, The
xx Contenders, The
xx Convention
71 Countdown to Zero
83 Crazy Heart
51 Creation
xx Cremaster Cycle, The
73 Cropsey
73 Cyrus
74 Daddy Longlegs
64 Disappearance of Alice Creed, The
73 Dogtooth
50 Don McKay
66 Double Take
47 Dry Land, The
67 Eclipse, The
85 Exit Through the Gift Shop
56 Extra Man, The
75 Farewell
76 Father of My Children, The
30 Finding Bliss
38 Flipped
52 Formosa Betrayed
60 Fresh
xx Fruit Fly
53 Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema
43 George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead
76 Get Low
68 Ghost Bird
77 Ghost Writer, The
68 Girl on the Train, The
66 Girl Who Played with Fire, The
xx Gone with the Pope
40 Good Heart, The
69 Good, The Bad, The Weird, The
49 Great Directors
45 Greatest, The
76 Greenberg
59 Handsome Harry
24 Happiness Runs
73 Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Suess
55 Harry Brown
80 Have You Heard From Johannesburg?: Apartheid and the Club of the West
57 Here and There
xx Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger
51 Holy Rollers
54 Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel
32 Human Centipede (First Sequence), The
79 I Am Love
91 I Was Born, But...
33 In My Sleep
60 Infidel, The
67 It Came From Kuchar
74 Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
79 Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
57 John Rabe
55 Joneses, The
55 Juche Idea, The
65 Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D
86 Kids Are All Right, The
53 Killer Inside Me, The
53 Killing Kasztner
44 Kimjongilia
xx Kings of the Evening
68 Kisses
62 Kites: The Remix
47 La Mission
xx Last Letters from Monte Rosa
xx Law, The
63 Lbs.
xx Le amiche
58 Leaves of Grass
87 Lebanon
72 Let It Rain
70 Life During Wartime
41 Lightkeepers, The
76 Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders
37 Living Wake, The
66 Looking for Eric
72 Lottery, The
37 Love Ranch
86 Mademoiselle Chambon
xx Malice in Wonderland
46 Mercy
78 Messenger, The
47 Metropia
62 Micmacs
75 Mid-August Lunch
60 Middle Men
54 Misfortunates, The
64 Mother and Child
75 Mugabe and the White African
35 Multiple Sarcasms
65 Mundo Alas
xx My Girlfriend's Boyfriend
50 My Name is Khan
41 Nature of Existence, The
71 Neshoba: The Price of Freedom
xx Nightfall
71 No One Knows About Persian Cats
59 Nobody’s Perfect
72 Oath, The
xx Ocean of Pearls
65 Ondine
59 Only When I Dance
58 OSS 117: Lost in Rio
xx Oxford Murders, The
37 Paper Man
63 Parking Lot Movie, The
68 Patrik Age 1.5
40 People I've Slept With, The
42 Perfect Game, The
47 Perrier's Bounty
48 Picasso and Braque Go to the Movies
78 Please Give
31 Pornography: A Thriller
41 Princess Kaiulani
90 Prophet, A
xx Raajneeti
67 Raavan
78 Racing Dreams
xx Ramchand Pakistani
xx Red Birds
63 Reel Injun
85 Restrepo
xx Road, Movie
45 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead
xx Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage
43 Salt of This Sea
81 Secret in Their Eyes, The
81 Secret of Kells, The
73 See What I'm Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary
57 Severe Clear
57 Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
52 Shine of Rainbows, A
48 Sicilian Girl, The
77 Single Man, A
68 Smash His Camera
69 Solitary Man
45 South of the Border
56 Spoken Word
47 Spring Fever
75 Square, The
22 Standing Ovation
75 Stonewall Uprising
53 Tales from the Script
74 Terribly Happy
78 Teza
75 That Evening Sun
xx They Came to Play
49 Thorn in the Heart, The
xx Thru the Moebius Strip
60 TiMER
64 Tirador
15 To Age or Not to Age
52 Touching Home
33 Trash Humpers
59 Trotsky, The
xx Trust Us, This Is All Made Up
24 Twelve
56 Two in the Wave
62 Valhalla Rising
85 Vincere
xx Visionaries
54 Wah Do Dem
70 Warlords, The
56 What's the Matter with Kansas?
55 When You're Strange: A Film About The Doors
68 Whiz Kids
52 Who Do You Love
35 Who Killed Nancy
64 Wild Grass
xx Wild Hunt, The
56 Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest, The
69 Winnebago Man
90 Winter's Bone
68 Women Without Men
xx World on a Wire

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Earth

EMAILPRINTDisneynature

Earth reviews
72
5.4 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 26 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 19 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >

Movie Info

Genre(s): Adventure  |  Documentary

Written by:

Directed by: Alastair Fothergill
Mark Linfield

Release Date:
Theatrical: April 22, 2009
DVD: September 1, 2009

Running Time: 95 minutes, Color

Origin: UK | Germany | USA

Summary

RATING: G for General Audiences

Starring James Earl Jones

The first film in the Disneynature series, Earth, narrated by James Earl Jones, tells the remarkable story of three animal families and their amazing journey across the planet we all call home. Earth combines rare action, unimaginable scale and impossible locations by capturing the most intimate moments of our planet's wildest and most elusive creatures. (Disneynature)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

91

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

This super-duper deluxe nature documentary clearly aims to recruit young viewers as conservationists.

Read Full Review >
88

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Whereas the TV series rarely flinched when it came to showing the animal world as it is, Earth always pulls back at the last second. It shows a cheetah pulling down a gazelle, but not the feast that follows.

Read Full Review >
83

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

For most of the way this is an eye-popping, not blood-curdling, experience.

Read Full Review >
80

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Earth eloquently shows the struggle, life doing what it must to sustain life. The spectacle is stirring.

Read Full Review >
80

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

It would be Pollyannaish to pretend that the documentary Earth is without its problems, but the bottom line is, difficulties be damned, it shouldn't be missed.

Read Full Review >
80

Variety Jay Weissberg

A ravishing distillation of the BBC/Discovery series "Planet Earth," docu brings to the large screen memorable images that cried out on TV for the full movie-going experience.

Read Full Review >
80

NPR Bob Mondello

The ascribing of emotions to these critters can get a little Lion King-ripe at times. But the filmmakers have filled in around their "family" narratives with footage that is breathtaking enough on a towering screen -- and you should find the biggest one possible -- that it is hard to object too strenuously.

Read Full Review >
80

LA Weekly Jean Oppenheimer

State-of-the-art camera equipment captures images of startling clarity and proximity. There isn't one frame of CGI.

Read Full Review >
75

Charlotte Observer Roger Moore

Nothing too graphic, but it creates drama, as it’s only natural to root for the hunted in a film like this.

Read Full Review >
75

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Filled with unexpected facts.

Read Full Review >
75

ReelViews James Berardinelli

It requires only four words to describe Earth: glorious photography, annoying narration.

Read Full Review >
75

New York Post Kyle Smith

Earth, you had me at baby polar bears.

Read Full Review >
75

Boston Globe Janice Page

This Earth doesn't really have anything new to say, but it does present some newly entertaining ways of saying it.

Read Full Review >
75

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

A wide-screen wildlife documentary in which the cycles of birth and death, migrations and seasons, are captured in stunning - absolutely stunning - ways.

Read Full Review >
75

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Stephen Cole

By hiring James Earl Jones to narrate, Disney has prepared youngsters to understand that man is equally capable of heroism and villainy.

Read Full Review >
75

TV Guide Jason Buchanan

The overall tone of the film is absolutely appropriate for all ages, and it's never too early to learn the importance of preserving our planet.

Read Full Review >
70

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

A gorgeously photographed storybook.

Read Full Review >
70

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

This first feature from Disney's new nature division has an encyclopedic reach and spectacular footage shot by more than two dozen crack cinematographers.

Read Full Review >
70

The Hollywood Reporter Stephen Farber

Although Earth falls short of its potential, it still contains enough glorious photography to please its target audience.

Read Full Review >
70

The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis

This is nature defanged and declawed for kiddie consumption, so the emphasis is on awwww-filled moments.

Read Full Review >
67

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

This first release from Disney’s self-explanatory new arm, Disneynature, is at the very least peripherally concerned with the planet and its dwindling prospects, but the real renewable resource here is the groundbreaking "Planet Earth" miniseries.

Read Full Review >
67

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

On the nature-documentary continuum, Earth falls closer to the cuddly anthropomorphism of "March Of The Penguins" than the cold rationality of "Grizzly Man."

Read Full Review >
63

USA Today Claudia Puig

If you've watched the BBC series "Planet Earth," then Earth will seem like a familiar, if stunning, global rewarming.

Read Full Review >
60

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

There's nothing in Earth that's as moving as the sight of the mother penguin "grieving" for her chick in "March of the Penguins." You can applaud Earth for not jerking tears. On the other hand, an occasional tear isn't such a bad thing.

Read Full Review >
60

New York Daily News Joe Neumaier

As a virtual tour of what Earth Day is about, kids ought to be entranced. If it helps them get greener, even better.

Read Full Review >
50

San Francisco Chronicle Justin Berton

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 Full Review >

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 5.4 (out of 10) based on 19 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jay H gave it a6:
What is it with Disney and animals being killed or dying in films? It's like an obsession - from Bambi to Old Yeller to this. I love nature documentaries, but I want to feel enthralled with the beauty, not the heartache of killing and death. I realize it's part of the natural cycle, but I don't have to be hit over the head with it either. Needless to say, I was disappointed. The cinematography is magnificent though. The score is a bit overdone. Cheer up Disney.

Justin S gave it a5:
OK, but only OK. Want to see the real thing check out BBC's Planent Earth. You'll recognize a lot of the footage. In the same vein, you wait until next year for Disney's Ocean, or just watch BBC's Blue Planet now.

Enzo P. gave it a5:
Earth has to be one of the most ok movies of the year. I really thought that this movie was going to be better then what it was.

James V gave it a1:
Made up of over 90%+ footage that people who would have been interested in this have already seen, and then voiced by darth vader, this movie even has large snippetts of the exact same lines as in Planet Earth. It is a complete waste of money, unless you are looking for a sentimental and fatalistic movie that attempts to demonstrate how life is meaningless (its subtle, but there) and really really love the narrator, I would skip the whole thing and just see Planet Earth.

Josh P gave it a5:
Earth's narration is cleared geared towards seven-year-olds, and there are perhaps eight facts in the entire movie. Clips are often shown with no explanation as to what or where they are. The footage is still spectacular, but in Planet Earth, it was arranged and presented far better than in Earth. I suggest that you watch the original Planet Earth series if you liked Earth and haven't ever seen Planet Earth--it's far better, in my opinion, and David Attenborough is awesome, of course. On another note, people who don't believe in global warming...funny stuff. Thanks, P K, for brightening my day!

Mary R gave it a2:
Dreadful, dreadful. Awful script, nondescript music, poor editing of very beautiful BBC nature footage. Repeated scenes of young animals hunted and killed in slow motion -- very inappropriate for children. Haven't walked out of a movie in years before this. Watch the Attenborough BBC specials instead.

Randy M gave it a6:
Earth has the power to grasp you...if you haven't seen the better photographed, narrated, and presented "Planet Earth" series from BBC.

Read more user comments >

Popular on CBS sites: US Open | PGA Championship | iPad | Video Game Reviews | Cell Phones

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use (UPDATED)