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EARTH (2009)Movie Reviews
Nature documentary, an edited-down version of the 12-hour miniseries 'Planet Earth' and reslated for cinematic release -- a sweeping tour of our home planet's biosphere. Cast:James Earl Jones, Patrick Stewart, Ken WatanabeDirector:Alastair Fothergill, Mark LinfieldRelease Date:April 22, 2009DVD Release:September 1, 2009From:DisneynatureRating:GLength:1 hr 30 min
Earth (2009) played to very good reviews. • Clint O'Connor wrote in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, "...meant to entertain and inform, and it does.... a kids' movie that will keep parents awake and interested." • And Deirdre Swain wrote in Toronto Now, "...gorgeous and entertaining... strictly for the kiddies. There's hunting but no blood; mating dances but no actual gettin' it on." More Reviews Below...
Jason Lynch, People: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Didn't have the time for the BBC's exquisite 'Planet Earth' miniseries? This is an effective, albeit inferior, Cliffs Notes version."(See all of Jason Lynch's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 71 words, 04/23/09
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...effectively matter-of-fact in demonstrating the effects of of climate change. James Earl Jones narrates with the authority of Adam naming the animals."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 97 words, 04/17/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...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..."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 527 words, 04/22/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (11 Reviews)
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: MODERATE "...nature defanged and declawed for kiddie consumption... you may leave the theater feeling as fuzzy -- and ultimately as powerless -- as those doomed polar bears."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 267 words, 04/22/09
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...perfect for families, especially those with young movie fans who want to help avoid a 'Wall-E' type of future."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 401 words, 04/22/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a film that younger audiences in particular will enjoy.... a feature-length compilation from the splendid BBC and Discovery Channel series 'Planet Earth.' "(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 452 words, 04/22/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: EXCELLENT "...difficulties be damned, it shouldn't be missed. What it does well is so remarkable that by the time the credits roll you likely won't want it to end.... eye-popping..."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 679 words, 04/22/09
Kyle Smith, New York Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "As Woody Allen put it, nature is 'spiders and bugs, and big fish eating little fish, and plants eating plants... It's like an enormous restaurant.' "(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 443 words, 04/22/09
John Anderson, New York Newsday: VERY GOOD(cg) "A mating of old-fashioned, heavy-on-the-narration Disney nature film and state-of-the-art photographic technology. Gorgeous, of course, as well as scary and awe-inspiring."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 294 words, 04/22/09
Stephen Cole, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "The film soft-pedals its pro-environmental message. Disney's 'Earth' would much rather have us love nature than hate those who carelessly destroy it."(See all of Stephen Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 509 words, 04/22/09
Deirdre Swain, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...gorgeous and entertaining... strictly for the kiddies. There's hunting but no blood; mating dances but no actual gettin' it on.... disappointingly, it skirts climate change."(See all of Deirdre Swain's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 215 words, 04/23/09
KEY CITIES (13 Reviews)
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a gorgeously photographed storybook.... imposes a narrative arc on its planetary subject that follows the seasonal movement of the sun..."(See all of Michael O'Sullivan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 307 words, 04/17/09
Cary Darling, Dallas Morning News: EXCELLENT(cg) "...be sure to stay through the end of the credits as the filmmakers tear down the fourth wall to show how they got some of their shots."(See all of Cary Darling's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 510 words, 04/22/09
Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) " 'Planet Earth' run through the Disney meat grinder and turned into fast food.... The visuals are still stunning... But it has all been dumbed down..."(See all of Richard Nilsen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 401 words, 04/20/09
Justin Berton, San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "...crams in the dramatic adventures of several species (including penguins) - with the result that it comes up short on telling one really good story."(See all of Justin Berton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 247 words, 04/24/09
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "Is that the sonorous baritone of Mufasa, a.k.a. James Earl Jones, waxing poetic about 'the circle of life'? What's this - 'Lion King III'?"(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 429 words, 04/22/09
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: VERY GOOD(cg) "...avoids the homework overtones of much environmentalist programming, while James Earl Jones' voice-of-God narration adds a touch of dignity."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 321 words, 04/22/09
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "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."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 271 words, 04/22/09
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a grab bag of beautiful nature footage... it serves to introduce the sorts of films and sorts of places Disneynature will take its cameras in coming films."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 479 words, 04/22/09
Chris Kaltenbach, Baltimore Sun: OUTSTANDING(cg) "This first release from the new Disneynature line is both a throwback to and an update of the wildlife films Disney began producing in the 1950s..."(See all of Chris Kaltenbach's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 544 words, 04/24/09
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "A jaunt to Papua New Guinea becomes an invitation to marvel-giggle-marvel at the varieties of birds of paradise primping, preening for mating."(See all of Lisa Kennedy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 579 words, 04/22/09
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "I wondered whether James Earl Jones was ever going to shut up.... his basso prattle indulges in misleading anthropomorphisms."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 583 words, 04/23/09
Deirdre Swain, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...gorgeous and entertaining... strictly for the kiddies. There's hunting but no blood; mating dances but no actual gettin' it on.... disappointingly, it skirts climate change."(See all of Deirdre Swain's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 215 words, 04/23/09
HIGHBROW PRESS (4 Reviews)
Bob Mondello, NPR All Things Considered: VERY GOOD "...features footage from the televised nature series, 'Planet Earth.' But when a subject is as big as all outdoors, the big screen has some advantages."(See all of Bob Mondello's reviews...)(Listen to the full review...) 281 seconds, 04/22/09
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: MODERATE "...nature defanged and declawed for kiddie consumption... you may leave the theater feeling as fuzzy -- and ultimately as powerless -- as those doomed polar bears."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 267 words, 04/22/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "...combines majestic visions of migration with benign intimations of anthropomorphism... life doing what it must to sustain life. The spectacle is stirring."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 200 words, 04/24/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...difficulties be damned, it shouldn't be missed. What it does well is so remarkable that by the time the credits roll you likely won't want it to end.... eye-popping..."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 679 words, 04/22/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Jay Weissberg, Daily Variety: EXCELLENT "George Fenton's ultra-rich, majestic score is in keeping with the overall sweep, yet occasionally feels like a parody of the John Williams type of over-sumptuousness."(See all of Jay Weissberg's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 737 words, 10/08/07
Stephen Farber, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Although the narration is provided by James Earl Jones, the words he utters in his rich, stentorian tones rarely reach beyond platitudes about the 'circle of life.' "(See all of Stephen Farber's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 442 words, 04/17/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...difficulties be damned, it shouldn't be missed. What it does well is so remarkable that by the time the credits roll you likely won't want it to end.... eye-popping..."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 679 words, 04/22/09
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: MODERATE "...nature defanged and declawed for kiddie consumption... you may leave the theater feeling as fuzzy -- and ultimately as powerless -- as those doomed polar bears."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 267 words, 04/22/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "...combines majestic visions of migration with benign intimations of anthropomorphism... life doing what it must to sustain life. The spectacle is stirring."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 200 words, 04/24/09
12.5 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Earth (2009)'s reviews are separated by an average 12.5 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Earth (2009) (36 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Earth (2009)'s reviews cover 70.0% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 13,992 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 389 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 24.9 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Earth (2009)'s reviews on average broke 24.9 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Earth (2009)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Earth (2009) (36 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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