Wings of Life (2011)

Touches You

Best movie ever!

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

On a positive note - Wings of Life is certainly a dazzling, vividly-photographed, nature documentary from Disney Studios. It tells the viewer a story about pollination, which is continually being carried out (by the insects, birds and bats) from all corners of the Earth.If nothing else - This colourful, 80-minute documentary is certainly well-worth a view, solely for its excellent, state-of-the-art photography.But, on the other hand - Wings of Life is also yet another somewhat heavy-handed warning to all of us human Earthlings. It clearly tells one of the short and long-term effects of man's destructive nature. Here we are told quite frankly how man's environmentally-reckless behaviour is seriously affecting the vital importance of pollination which, if not corrected soon, will spell certain disaster for the overall survival of this entire planet.This DVD presentation also lost itself some serious points due to the annoyance factor of Meryl Streep's unwelcome narration.

*Advanced Warning!* - I strongly recommend that you watch this DisneyNature documentary without the truly irksome "I-am-a-flower" narration (spare me!) from veteran, Hollywood actress, Meryl Streep.I suggest that you turn off Streep's droning voice and turn on some of your favourite ambient music and enjoy watching Wings Of Life (WOL, for short) in that much more pleasant mode.With Streep's preposterous narration aside - I guarantee that the images you are about to see in this 80-minute documentary are, without question, a truly fantastic and wonderful feast for the eyes.When it comes to WOL's visuals - It was so clear to see that absolutely no expense was spared to present to the viewer some of the most vivid and astoundingly beautiful imagery imaginable.Believe me, had it not been for Streep's annoying narration, then I would have not hesitated giving WOL a full 8-star rating, no questions asked.

I came across this presentation on Netflix streaming movies. As would be expected the picture and sound are outstanding, and of course Meryl Streep's narration is beyond reproach. As she narrates she assumes the identity of a flower. Not just any flower, but every flower. She goes on to explain that early Earth had no flowers and when they were "invented" it entirely changed the balance and dynamic. Without flowers we would have no fruit, and without fruit we would have far fewer choices of things to eat. So flowers get pollinated and fruits form. But how does the pollination happen? By small flying things. Insects, especially bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, and bats. Those four are the focus of the "wings of life" in the title of this presentation. It uses remarkable photography to illustrate its points. Nighttime film of bats first pollinating, then weeks later feasting on the fruit of desert cactus. Hummingbirds fighting to defend their sources of nectar. Bumble bees and honey bees doing their work. The long migration of Monarch Butterflies.All in all a superb and interesting presentation. There is a cautionary tone near the end, of honey bees disappearing mysteriously, and the habits we humans have of clearing land and building homes and highways, taking away some of the natural habitats of these necessary pollinators. And all that is true, but the whole presentation is much more science and nature than it is politics.

I have heard of Disneynature before but, it was a trailer for "Chimpanzee", but back then I thought it was going to be just another documentary about creature's lives, formed into a story. At first when I looked at this documentary, "wings of life" my first impression was it was going to be about butterflies, and birds and bees and all those flying pollinators. but I was in for a surprise. That surprise was what got me hooked up, the documentary was literally turned into a story, like a nature ballet and the "star actors" are the flowers, inanimate and slightly motionless yet "given souls" as though the flowers were talking themselves, whereas the pollinators are more like supporters in the play. Disney has earned credit for that many times (if you still remember "Flowers and Trees"), turning objects into actors with souls.Even though Disneynature is just a division of the major company, its documentary still carries that surreal magic, its a great movie, I would recommend it to anyone.