EARTH: ONE AMAZING DAY (2017)

Genre: Documentary
Director: Richard Dale, Peter Webber, Fan Lixin
Narrated By: Robert Redford
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 25 January 2018

Synopsis: From BBC Earth Films, the studio that brought you Earth, comes the long awaited sequel - Earth: One Amazing Day, an astonishing journey revealing the awesome power of the natural world. Over the course of one single day, we track the sun from the highest mountains to the remotest islands, from exotic jungles to urban jungles. Astounding breakthroughs in filmmaking technology bring you up close and personal with a cast of unforgettable characters; a baby zebra desperate to cross a swollen river, a penguin who heroically undertakes a death-defying daily commute to feed his family, a family of sperm whales who like to snooze vertically and a sloth on the hunt for love. Told with humour, intimacy, emotion and a jaw-dropping sense of cinematic splendour, Earth: One Amazing Day is the enchanting big screen family friendly adventure that spectacularly highlights how every day is filled with more unseen dramas and wonders than you can possibly imagine- until now!

Movie Review:

Lest we forget the beauty that surrounds us, ‘Earth: One Amazing Day’ reminds us of the wonder that we can’t see, don’t see and even won’t see.

Narrated with stateliness by Robert Redford (or Jackie Chan if you’re watching the Chinese version made for Mainland China), this sequel to BBC Earth Films’ ‘Earth’ traverses the various continents of our blue planet over the course of the beginning of a single day until its end to show how different animals respond to the sun’s warming rays. A 100-strong camera crew led by a trio of directors – Richard Dale, Peter Webber and Fan Lixin – have endeavoured to capture these creatures in their natural habitats, and the result is stunningly gorgeous visuals that are nothing less than a feat of technology and artistry.

Among the breathtaking ensemble are bamboo-chewing pandas from the forests of Sichuan in China, sun-bathing iguanas on the salt-drenched rocks of the Galapagos Islands, trekking chinstrap penguins from the South Atlantic, pouncing servals in the African wilderness, toothed whales (or ‘narwhals’) swimming along the cracks of the ice in the Arctic, and last but not least an amorous sloth making its way leisurely across the waters of a tropical island to meet its mate. You’ll be blown away by how the filmmakers have managed to shoot these animals in such exquisite detail, even as you marvel at the glories of nature.

It bears noting that the voiceover is blissfully free of sermonising, avoiding such subjects as the impact on climate change on these habitats or even mankind’s destruction of their homeland. Instead, it focuses on the diversity and resilience of wildlife, finding both humour and thrills in the day-to-day lives of assorted fauna – a sequence of just-hatched marine iguanas fleeing a horde of hungry snakes provides biting excitement, and so does that of a zebra foal trying to cross a raging river; another  on the other hand, a montage of North American bears scratching their backs against trees is genuinely amusing, ditto two towering giraffes pummelling each other to show just who is alpha male of the terrain.

If there is one criticism, it is that it moves sometimes too quickly from one landscape to another, without giving equivalent depth to each. But that arguably isn’t its intention – rather, it wants you to remember the natural world that exists side-by-side with ours, filled with beauty and wonder by all creatures great and small, perfectly balanced by day and night. It is amazing all right, and all the more to watch it on the big screen, so bring the whole family to be inspired, enlightened and humbled.

Movie Rating:

(A fascinating tribute to the beauty that surrounds us, 'Earth: One Amazing Day' makes up for what it lacks in depth with sheer breathtaking imagery)

Review by Gabriel Chong