Earth: One Amazing Day

Although this documentary eavesdropping on wildlife across the globe over a 24-hour period is a BBC co-production, it's short on the insight and scientific detail that viewers expect from a TV series fronted by David Attenborough. Our guide is Robert Redford, whose warm and avuncular narration keeps things light, and is reminiscent of 1960s-era Disney broadcasts. The film's U-certificate is also an indication of its intention to appeal to all ages, so the focus is on the cute and comical (pandas, penguins, monkeys, bears); the nearest the film gets to chronicling nature red in tooth and claw is the memorable sequence where writhing snakes chase newborn iguanas across the beaches of the Galapagos Islands, though only the skirmishes where the little critters get away without cost are shown. As we've come to expect in the digital age, the quality of the footage and up-close-and-personal camerawork is endlessly impressive, even when what's filmed is designed as a primer for youngsters who might be distressed by anything grislier.