I'm Off

Well readers, the post-holiday winter blues have struck me and the plushies, so we will not update next week. Instead, we are going on vacation to relax, refocus, and prepare for future blogs. Until next time, then.

We're off!

Creepy Creatures

 
Creepy Creatures produced by National Geographic Videos.

Plot: A documentary on the creepiest creatures to walk the earth. Narrated by a black cat, the show displays some of the most unsettling animals and plants in nature. Many, including the sundew plant and black widow spider, trap their prey with sticky buds or webs. Others take a more active approach, such as the venomous cobra and clawed aye-aye. Some animals, seeking to provide for their young, pursue the dead as their victims, filling a morbid, but necessary, part of nature. With appropriately eerie music and choir songs, the documentary celebrates the gross, unnerving, and scary aspects of the natural world.

Genre: Animals, Documentary, Horror

Reading Level: Not Rated; but some footage, such as the cobra eating the rat, is not suitable for more sensitive viewers.

Similar Titles: Animal Atlas: Creepy Creatures, The Magic School Bus: Creepy, Crawly Fun!

Personal Thoughts: The age in this video shows, although not in the footage. Instead, the manner of presentation changed over the past decade or so. Most current documentaries show creepy creatures, but immediately extoll on their positive virtues or reveal their conservation situations. The change is for the better, since it encourages viewers to accept the strange creatures filling the earth as more than just creepy things. However, sometimes users need to enjoy creepy for creepiness's sake without a heavy environmentalist tone, and this video provides an excellent opportunity to do so.

Nature: Window to the Sea

Nature: Window to the Sea produced by PBS.

Plot: The show documents the change in American aquariums' focus throughout the years. Originally, the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago offered the opportunity to show off the city's wealth. The New England Aquarium attempted to expose artistic vision by breaking away from the display cases of traditional aquariums through state-of-the-art exhibits. Eventually, both of the organizations focused on exposing inland Americans to the animals, environments, and issues of the sea. Following the collapse of the local fishing industry, the Monterey Bay Aquarium offered stimulation to the busted economy. It also provided a major education opportunity, giving a major research institution to marine biologists. Conservation became a growing concern among aquariums, and the Wakiki Aquarium lead the way in coral, giant clam, and monk seal protection and propagation. Aquariums have changed from a means of displaying wealth to an opportunity to protect the ocean.

Genre: History, Animals, Documentary

Reading Level: Not Rated, but family-friendly.

Similar Titles: Oceans in Glass: Behind the Scenes of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Blue Planet

Personal Thoughts: A well-planned documentary linking historical, social, and environmental issues. Many modern visitors assume all aquariums, as well as zoos and nature parks, began with conservation in mind. However, many started for economical or social reasons. Yet, just because they began with less-than altruistic intentions does not mean they fail to have a positive impact on their guests or their animals. A highly recommended documentary for ocean enthusiasts and future marine biologists.

How Stuff Works: Salt

 
How Stuff Works: Salt produced by Discovery.

Plot: Most people know salt as the white, grainy substance in a shaker. However, salt remains the key for some of the most important, expensive, efficient, and dangerous discoveries, situations, and products known to humanity. As the only rock necessary for a healthy diet, salt allows humans to function. It also causes major health and development problems. To get salt, humans spend enormous amounts of resources and effort. Evaporation and mining provide salt, but also create vital wildlife sanctuaries and safe storage spaces. Salt may even provide an answer to the growing energy crisis, since it will combust when exposed to high radio frequencies. Humble salt, while often ignored, allows humans to exist.

Genre: Documentary, Science

Reading Level: Not Rated; while some episodes of the series focus on items like alcohol, this particular episode does not contain such references.

Similar Titles: Modern Marvels, How Stuff Works

Personal Thoughts: The episode runs like an updated version of the Eyewitness videos. It offers rapid "bits" of information in a fast-paced, graphics-heavy manner. While it does not contain the elaborate computer illustrations of the Eyewitness episodes, the information is more complete and the show is twice as long. Apparently, the show's series also focuses on other food items, such as corn and coffee, as well as other materials such as copper, lead, water, and rubber. The series offers an in-depth look at items often dismissed as mundane.

Life

Life produced by BBC.

Plot: Following the success of Planet Earth, the series observes the major groups of animal life on the planet through the use of artful filming, exotic locations, and professional narration. The four-disk series contains episodes on insects, reptiles & amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, primates, and conservation issues.

Genre: Animals, Documentary

Reading Level: Not Rated, but some hunting scenes may be intense for sensitive viewers.

Similar Titles: Life, Mammals, Nature's Most Amazing Events

Personal Thoughts: Two versions of the series exist. The one I watched was narrated by Oprah Winfrey and seems very youth-focused. However, many viewers prefer the original version with David Attenborough, citing the more experienced narrator and professional script as a better format. The version I saw tones down biological terms and situations, preventing the seriousness of the science from making a dramatic impact, so the preference is understandable.

On a more personal note, the focus on mammals becomes annoying quickly. For a series claiming to focus on Earth's lifeforms, half of the episodes focus exclusively on mammals. While mammals are interesting (and marketable), they are a very poor representation of biology. Insects and fish offer more variations of life than mammals, so they provide a better picture of what life requires. Similarly, amphibians and reptiles are different enough to merit their own episodes. A few major groups of animals, such as crabs, spiders, and mollusks, fail to receive any notice at all. A series claiming to focus on all life-forms should avoid such bias.

Documentaries next week

The blog will attempt to bring more serious topics into consideration by reviewing documentaries next week.

Happy Lizard is excited about documentaries!

 

Like I said, it is an attempt.

Ponyo

 
Ponyo distributed by Disney.

Plot: After she manages to escape from her overbearing father, a little goldfish girl finds herself rescued by a four-year-old boy. The boy, named Soske, is enchanted by the little red fish with a girl's face, and names her Ponyo. Promising to love her, Soske and Ponyo seem like perfect friends...until the sea reclaims Ponyo. Determined to return to the little boy, Ponyo taps into depths of magic her father never dreamed of. She manages to find Soske and transforms into a girl to stay with him and his mother, but her determination tears the fabric of reality. She and Soske must conquer the sea goddess's challenge to return the world's balance and stay with each other.

Genre: Animation, Movie, Fantasy, Anime

Reading Level: Rated G

Similar Titles: Charlotte's Web, My Neighbor Totoro

Personal Thoughts: While the movie is based on Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid, it has a much lighter feel and sweeter ending than the original. While the movie does hint at deeper meaning beyond the plot, it uses the hints to maintain a feeling of mystery coupled with a desire to explore, much like My Neighbor Totoro. Also, the animators attempted to avoid relying on computer graphics, allowing the simplicity of the character design to give the movie a story-book quality often missing in animation. A good movie for a lazy day.