Thinking about binging a new true crime series? Set phasers to “that’s a little too close to home,” and get into Our Planet.
Set against an emotional score by Steven Price and narrated by everybody’s English grandpa Sir David Attenborough, Netflix’s first original nature documentary series explores the beauty of Earth’s ecosystems as they grapple Glow-style with global warming. It’s got rave reviews on websites like Flixboss so if you’re a nature lover, give it a watch!
Over 400,000 hours of footage, 6,000+ drone flights and 200 expeditions yield intimate and awe-inspiring moments with our animal friends who are surprisingly just like us. They choreograph a dance with friends to impress a potential mate (Blue Manakin birds, Episode 3: Jungles. Also me, in seventh grade). They brave extreme elements to seek shelter and hydration (Episode 5: From Deserts to Grasslands. Coachella 2013: From Sahara Tent to the Car). A scene with a baby flamingo shackled by salt-crusted leg warmers was all of the heartbreak that I needed to curl up into the fetal position and contemplate my consumer-driven existence.
If it seems like the majesty of the cinematography is laced with a sense of foreboding, the effect is intentional. Our Planet never lets you veer too far into transcendent territory before delivering the ugly truths about how the effects of climate change are fizzing away each precious habitat like Spider-Man at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. Really though.
“See that swinging orangutan? He’s gonna swing his way into extinction if ya’ll don’t quit harvesting that palm oil for your lip gloss.”
Producer Alastair Fothergill hopes that the Johnny-Raincloud-with-a-
“The key message of the film is that nature used to be a nice to have and now, it’s a must have,” Fothergill said.
To make like this timely Macy Gray reference and “get up, get out and do something,” producers have set up a website with more information on how you can get change your evil ways, baby: https://www.ourplanet.
