Cute but deadly.

Polar bears start off as impossibly cute, white, fluffy, frolicking cubs that grow into one of the deadliest and most ferocious species of bears on the planet. Making a nature documentary can seem as innocent as an animated kids movie about wise-cracking CGI beasts crossing the melting ice cap to save a human baby. But like the mighty polar bear, a cute idea may come back to bite you. National Geographic seems to be braving not only the frigid and unfriendly locations of their latest theatrical releases (or at least someone’s camera crews are), but also the sometimes ice cold reception that follows the release into the theater. For a very long time, an icy chill was the only thing that followed a nature movie into theaters. That all changed in 2005, with the incredibly successful story of some cute little waddling, socially responsible, tuxedoed penguins.

Whose idea is it anyway?

The truth of it is, it’s the naturalists who paved the way. Back in far more innocent times, hand-held cameras were just advancing to become... well, hand-held, therefore more easily, if not easily transported to exotic locations. For the first time it was becoming (in the view of scientists and botanists and marine biologists, etc., etc.) more practical, to get a camera lens focused on a nature no one had yet recorded on film. All that was still needed was an entrepreneur with the vision and the backing to see the commercial and educational value of showing the films to the public. Enter one of Moviedozer’s true heroes, with an idea he dubbed “True Life Adventures”.

Not only did Walt Disney correctly gauge the public’s reaction to witnessing the incredibly diverse palate that is nature, but he realized from the start, that the technical and artistic merit of these works would also garner serious industry attention. The series, released between 1949 and 1960, would go on to include thirteen films and capture eight Academy Awards. Though the history of the films is slightly tainted by rumors of some dubious filming techniques, the series stands alone as a legacy of the recognition that education can be neatly rolled into broadly popular entertainment.

On the life cycle of seals, beavers and nature documentaries.

What was American life like in the fifties? A little can be gleaned from the fact that the True Life Adventures succeeded through a decade that also brought on Elvis and the first beats of Rock N’ Roll. But the sixties were fast approaching and for kids, there was a medium out there even more magnetic than the movie theater. It would be an ace-in-the-hole for the Disney studio, and once again Walt would see the potential before anyone. With the jump into television, Disney had a way to keep old ideas vibrant and ultimately in wonderful color. The True Life Adventures were re-cut and repackaged for a television audience and immediately found an audience eager to keep things safe and wholesome.

But in the end, for better or worse, innocence fades. That is, unless it gets packaged as nostalgia, and Disney’s no slouch when it comes to repackaging old assets. Happily the True Life Adventures series of films, typically chock full of bonus extras, is available in four volumes of DVDs that, though dated by todays standards, are none the less charming and captivating entertainment. Soon after the Wonderful World of Color, Disney’s nature reels seemed pressured to turn into fictional adventures. Movies, like last year’s Frank Marshall directed Eight Below, tell dramatic, adventurous stories set against a nature that fills the screen with majesty and excitement. They bring to mind a time when local movie houses were filled with simpler expectations and our cinematic journeys touched on universal emotions and higher ideals. It’s the kind of movie we expect from Walt Disney Pictures. It’s a genre of film we hope they can keep viable, and they deserve respect and support for finding stories and filmmakers that can continue to create compelling content in this style.

So why has it fallen to National Geographic to pick up on reproducing the experience of theatrical nature films? Since documentaries have found themselves back in our theaters as mainstream entertainment, it seems, pardon the pun, only natural that an old Disney expertise be in line for a dust-off. But over the years, production capabilities have proliferated and filming in the most remote regions of the world has become common place. What Disney can bring to the table is experience and and “G”-rated sensibility. If not Disney, then who better than National Geographic to marshall it’s resources and put all of the pieces together. We can zoom right back to the fifties and recall the spirit of adventure calling to a generation of kids thirsting to become “explorers”. Over the decades, the Geographic has honed and refined it’s approach and respected (with a seemingly strong sense of pride) its traditions. It is this strong sense of history, of its own roots and vision, that perhaps allows Geographic the courage to invest in this logical off-shoot of its core business. What can be more telling than the National Geographic’s own brand logo, a simple yellow rectangle, recognized by millions as the cover border of the company’s flagship magazine. Tradition seems alive and well at National Geographic and we are all better for it.

Leading the march.

So let’s get back to those little guys braving the ice flows and blizzard winds in nothing but some feathered formal wear. March of the Penguins, directed by Luc Jacquet, won the 2006 Academy Award for best Documentary. Gold statues bring notice, notoriety and revenue. For March of the Penguins, there were positive clicks in each category. But let’s look at some numbers other than box-office receipts and DVD units moved through Target and Amazon. IMBD.com lists five separate production companies having had a hand in the making of the movie. Even more interesting is that there are twenty companies listed as distributers to cover world markets. (Included in that list is Disney’s distribution arm, Buena Vista International, which repped the film in France.) National Geographic shared distribution in the US with Warner Independent Pictures and it is through Warner Home Video that the DVD was released here. Film distribution can be a complex business of international rights, regional logistics and monetary investments. Perhaps in light of the subject matter, there appears to have been a certain amount of hedging bets and minimizing financial exposures. But it is National Geographic that has seized on a successful piece of business and is moving forward. Though a question of recapturing momentum lingers, the instinct to reawaken nature documentaries as a genre seems solid. They, much like the Walt Disney Company, are in a unique position to do so.

With Arctic Tale, currently scheduled for release on August 17th of this summer, National Geographic has joined Vision Box Pictures on the production of the film. Distribution duties in the US are being handled by Paramount Vantage. This jump, from distributer to production partner, is significant and would indicate a desire by National Geographic to have a direct influence on the content of the movie; a logical progression toward creating movies that convey the quality and core values of a brand that undoubtedly add tremendous credibility to the end product. So rather than “discovering” a great film made by an outside production company, the Geographic is working to insure a great film can and is getting made. Indeed, that a film like this is getting made, rather than hope for another March of the Penguins to fall into their laps. It is easy to envision, that with further successes, resources will flow more easily toward these efforts and National Geographic may be in the position to initiate productions like these, from conceptualization to final editing and distribution.

Cute and cautionary.

Movies like Arctic Tale are important. CGI animals of every species roam our cinemas and fill our kids’ DVD libraries. In a world where global survival is a headline and lecture styled documentaries attract real paying audiences, nature documentaries should and can play a vital role. While staging global rock concerts to generate awareness of climate change can feel a little like an extended CD commercial, movies that instill an appreciation and respect for nature in a young audience may be invaluable. Wrapping a primer in the beauty and fragility of our natural world with charm, tenderness, honesty and humor, makes for entertainment that stays imbedded in our consciousness. If you’re looking for a little hope, a sign that our kids can find motivation in our dreams, look no further into the past than 1960. Before that frenetic decade had even begun, our televisions, magazines, movie theaters and our kid’s’ toys took a child’s imagination to one place - space. By the end of the tumultuous sixties, a man stood on the moon and a world stood along side. If you want to change the world, fill a child’s mind with excitement about what can be.

National Geographic, along with lots of partners and brilliant filmmakers, are filling movie screens with natural wonders. Movie screens, like magical windows on our world, can inspire understanding, appreciation and an unforeseeable motivation to act. The legacy at stake isn’t one of besting another’s box-office numbers. The true legacy is a partnership between writer and filmmaker, producers and audience, to leverage the immense power of entertainment with a unique opportunity to educate.

Arctic Tale will be released by Paramount Vantage later this summer. It is directed by Sarah Robertson with narration written by Linda Woolverton, Mose Richards and Kristin Gore. March of the Penguins ( La Marche de l’empereur ) was directed by Luc Jacquet with US narration written by Jordan Roberts from an earlier screenplay by Luc Jacquet & Michel Fessler, story by Luc Jacquet. Eight Below was released by Walt Disney Pictures in 2006. The True Life Adventures series is available on four volumes of DVDs in the Walt Disney Legacy Collection.

Friday, July 6, 2007