13 best animal documentaries

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

These mesmerizing works will make you remember how much you love nature.

1. Microcosm

• France, Switzerland, Italy, 1996.
• Documentary.
• Duration: 80 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 9.

The film tells about the smallest representatives of the fauna, which are usually not noticed. But one has only to take a closer look - and a whole delightful world will open before the viewer.

The documentary masterpiece by Claude Nuridzani and Marie Perenu made a splash in 1996. It turns out that watching the insect world is almost as exciting as watching Hollywood blockbusters. The film's awards include five Cesars and a Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival “For Technical Excellence”.

2. Birds

• France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, 2001.
• Documentary.
• Duration: 98 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 9.

The title of the film directed by Jacques Perrin literally translates as "Feathered Migration" or "Birds - a wandering people." The tape is dedicated to the migration of different species and tells about the long and eventful journey of migratory birds from different parts of the world.

Most of the picture was shot right in the air, very close to the birds. "Birds" received the main French film award "Cesar" for editing, as well as many other prizes and nominations.

After the success of "Birds", another wonderful documentary work - "March of the Penguins" by Luc Jacquet - it was decided to release in the Russian box office under the title "Birds 2: Journey to the End of the World". Although the films are not really related to each other, even the directors are different.

3. Grizzly man

• USA, 2005.
• Documentary.
• Duration: 103 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

Multiple Cannes laureate Werner Herzog is a director of not only fiction but also documentary films. One of the director's most famous works, Grizzly Man tells the tragic story of American amateur naturalist Timothy Treadwell. The latter devoted his life to studying wild bears in Alaska. However, disregard for safety rules led to the fact that the researcher, along with his girlfriend Amy Hugenar, was torn apart by a grizzly bear.

4. Bear in the north

• USA, 2007.
• Documentary.
• Duration: 96 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

The documentary film produced by National Geographic tells all about the life of amazing predators - polar bears. Nanu the little bear and Silu the walrus grow up and hunt before our very eyes. But in the struggle to survive, they face many dangers.

5. Oceans

• France, Switzerland, Spain, USA, UAE, 2009.
• Documentary.
• Duration: 104 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

An epic film about the underwater fauna from the authors of "Birds" Jacques Clouseau and Jacques Perrin and with the voiceover of Pierce Brosnan invites the viewer not only to admire, but also to think about environmental problems. This stunningly filmed film won the main French Cesar Award for Best Documentary Feature of the Year.

6. Cove

• USA, 2009.
• Documentary.
• Duration: 92 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 4.

This documentary investigation by director Louis Psikhoyos explores the complex subject of Japanese whaling and the horrors associated with it. Every year, the residents of Taiji village catch dolphins for sale in aquariums. However, most of the animals are still killed in order to sell meat in the markets.

Psychoyosa's project won an Oscar for Best Feature-Length Documentary.

7. African cats: Kingdom of the brave

• USA, 2011.
• Documentary.
• Duration: 89 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

This breathtaking painting was commissioned by Disneynature, a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios. With the voice-over of Samuel L. Jackson, viewers will learn the life story of the lion's pride, led by the experienced lioness Leila. The second part of the film tells the story of Sita, a female cheetah with many children, heroically trying to protect her cubs from the dangers that lie in wait in the savannah teeming with predators.

8. Black fin

• USA, 2013.
• Documentary.
• Duration: 83 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

Gabriela Cowperthwaite's documentary thriller begins with a 2010 US accident. Then the male killer whale Tilikum, right during the show, dragged the trainer under the water and killed her. It later turns out that the girl was not the first victim.

In the course of his investigation, the director is trying to find out the true causes of the tragedy and understand what prompted the smartest animals, which never attack humans in their natural habitat, to do so. The film raises important questions about the ethics of keeping killer whales in captivity and makes one wonder what is behind spectacular performances at dolphinariums.

9. Land of bears

• France, 2013.
• Documentary.
• Duration: 95 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

A mesmerizingly beautiful documentary by French director Guillaume Vincent will acquaint viewers with the beauty of Kamchatka, which is often called the land of bears. After hibernation, majestic predators make a long way from high hills to rivers, where salmon swim. There, the bears will have to search for food for themselves all summer before heading back to their den for another long sleep.

You should definitely watch the tape in the original with subtitles for the voiceover of French actress Marion Cotillard.

10. Kingdom of the Monkeys

• USA, 2015.
• Documentary.
• Duration: 81 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

Another very beautiful film from the Walt Disney studio tells how the cute Ceylon macaque Maya and her newborn son Kip survive in the ruins of an ancient temple in the middle of the jungle of Sri Lanka.

11. City of cats

• Turkey, USA, 2016.
• Documentary.
• Duration: 79 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

A simple but very charming film by Turkish documentary filmmaker Jida Torun tells about the seven tailed inhabitants of Istanbul and the people who take care of them.

In search of a suitable nature, the film crew thoroughly studied the most different areas of the city, and in order to shoot Istanbul at cat's eye level, the operators installed the camera on a toy car with a remote control.

12. Earth: One Amazing Day

• UK, 2017.
• Documentary.
• Duration: 95 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

Every day, incredible events take place with animals in different parts of the world. Some are fighting for survival and territory, others are preoccupied with protecting their offspring, while others calmly greet a new day after hibernation.

This excellent BBC documentary shows the viewer life on the planet in all its variety. This film will be watched with pleasure even by those who are indifferent to the fauna. Indeed, thanks to the efforts of cameramen and editors, each single episode turns into a funny comedy, an action-packed western, or even a tense action movie. For example, the scene in which snakes chase a newly born iguana was filmed so intensely that for a while it even became one of the most talked about events on social networks.

Well, a separate pleasure is the offscreen text read by the legendary Nikolai Drozdov in the Russian version.

13. Queen of the elephants

• Germany, 2019.
• Documentary.
• Duration: 96 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

In the documentary by Victoria Stone and Mark Dibley, the wise elephant mother Athena leads her family across the African savannah in search of water. On the way, majestic animals experience both joys and losses.

The Elephant Queen can be viewed on the new Apple TV + platform along with other original content the service offers. Russian voice acting is not yet available, but nothing prevents you from enjoying the voice of the famous actor Chiwetel Edgifor, who played the main role in the historical drama "12 Years of Slavery".