Earth USA Version (2007)

James Earl Jones narrates this US version of the 96-minute documentary film which follows families of arctic polar bears, African elephants, and humpback whales for an entire year. The film tracks the animals’ migrations across the globe and through some of the harshest terrains and climates on earth, pointing out in a factual and remarkably non-political way the negative effects of global warming and habitat destruction on these animals and the planet as a whole. Selected from the over 4,000 days of cinematography that went into the making of Planet Earth, every image is breathtakingly spectacular and Jones’ concise narration is engaging and packed with information. What makes this film different from Planet Earth, besides the obvious shorter run-time, is the sense of story that permeates this film.