Browse Movies : Documentary : "animal"

Turtle: The Incredible Journey is an award-winning film that follows the life and migration of a loggerhead turtle from hatching to maturity and a return to its original Florida nesting grounds. The loggerhead turtle, a threatened species, has one of the longest and most difficult migratory patterns of any marine animal: Sea turtles newly hatched on the East Coast of the United States (usually in Florida) make their way from the sand into the ocean, and then begin a voyage that can span the entire Atlantic Ocean, only to return decades later to that same beach.

At Chengdu Panda Base in China, scientists are dedicated to protecting the species by breeding adult Giant Pandas in order to introduce cubs into the wild. This film follows one such researcher, whose passion leads her to initiate a new technique inspired by a black bear program in rural New Hampshire. What starts as a cross-culture collaboration becomes a life-changing journey for an American biologist who crosses an ocean to join her; a scientist from Inner Mongolia; and a very curious female cub named Qian Qian, born in captivity.

Born in China follows the stories of three animal families, transporting audiences to some of the most extreme environments on Earth to witness some of the most intimate moments ever captured in a nature film. A doting panda bear mother guides her growing baby as she begins to explore and seek independence. A two-year-old golden monkey who feels displaced by his new baby sister joins up with a group of free-spirited outcasts. And a mother snow leopard—an elusive animal rarely caught on camera—faces the very real drama of raising her two cubs in one of the harshest and most unforgiving environments on the planet.

What’s on your plate? Natalie Portman and Jonathan Safran Foer present this eye-opening look at the food industry and an ethical future free of factory farming.

A documentary about a small group of animal rights activists in Houston, Texas, dedicated to saving the lives of stray cats and dogs living on the street.

A documentary takes audiences on a journey around the world to meet incredible dogs and showcase their extraordinary real-life “superpowers”. These incredible animals use their superpowers to protect endangered species, save lives in avalanches and earthquakes and make the world a better place.

Produced in a mixed-media format including animation and storyboarded sequences, Unstuffed: A Build-A-Bear Story explores the origins of the “teddy bear” as well as the psychological importance of stuffed animals in childhood development. Sprinkled with heartwarming stories of Build-A-Bear’s lasting and emotional impact on the lives of everyday people to celebrities, the documentary is told through the eyes of a teddy bear narrator (voiced by Jon Lovitz) as it follows the furry footsteps of a single idea that reimagined not one, but two industries. The documentary starts with founder Maxine Clark’s 1997 entrepreneurial inspiration to launch an experiential mall-based retailer where kids could make their own stuffed animals, to one that has grown into a multi-generational pop culture iconic brand with a global footprint.

The first film in the Disneynature series, "Earth," narrated by James Earl Jones, tells the remarkable story of three animal families and their amazing journey across the planet we all call home. "Earth" combines rare action, unimaginable scale and impossible locations by capturing the most intimate moments of our planet's wildest and most elusive creatures. Directors Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, the acclaimed creative team behind the Emmy Award®-winning "Planet Earth," combine forces again to bring this epic adventure to the big screen, beginning Earth Day 2009.

GUNDA chronicles the unfiltered lives of a mother pig, a flock of chickens, and a herd of cows with masterful intimacy. Using stark, transcendent black and white cinematography and the farm's ambient soundtrack, Master director Victor Kossakowsky invites the audience to slow down and experience life as his subjects do, taking in their world with a magical patience and an other worldly perspective. GUNDA asks us to meditate on the mystery of animal consciousness, and reckon with the role humanity plays in it. Executive produced by Joaquin Phoenix.

Peter Dunning is the proud proprietor of Mile Hill Farm, which sits on 187 idyllic acres in Vermont. The land’s 38 harvests have seen the arrivals and departures of three wives and four children, leaving Peter with only animals and memories. The arrival of a film crew causes him to confront his history and his legacy, passing along hard-won agricultural wisdom even as he doubts the meaning of the work he is fated to perform until death. Haunted by alcoholism and regret, Peter veers between elation and despair, often suggesting to the filmmakers his own suicide as a narrative device. He is a tragedian on a stage it has taken him most of his life to build, and which now threatens to collapse from under him. At once a postcard from paradise and a cautionary tale for our times, Peter and The Farm sifts through the potential energy of a human life, that which is used and that which is squandered.

Disneynature takes moviegoers deep into the forests of Africa with Chimpanzee, a new True Life Adventure introducing a baby chimp named Oscar and his entertaining approach to life in a story of family bonds and individual triumph. Oscar’s playful curiosity and zest for discovery showcase the intelligence and ingenuity of some of the most extraordinary personalities in the animal kingdom. Working together, Oscar’s chimpanzee family—including his mom and the group’s savvy leader, Freddy— navigates the complex territory of the forest. The world is a playground for little Oscar and his fellow young chimps, who’d rather make mayhem than join their parents for an afternoon nap. But when Oscar’s family is confronted by a rival band of chimps, he is left to fend for himself until a surprising ally steps in and changes his life forever.

A storm grows, a sea otter pup is separated from her mother, and a young woman bound for adventure blows in to town. On a wild, windswept beach these lives collide and an entire species' survival gets personal. Through Katie's eyes you will see our playful pup, otter number 501, get an amazing second chance at life in the wild. As the two learn to navigate the opportunities and risks of life without anchor we see the incredible efforts people have undertaken to return sea otters from the brink of existence. Framed against the strikingly beautiful Monterey Bay coastline, the last stronghold of these iconic animals, Katie discovers just how serious this threat remains.

As a pioneer of integrative medicine, veterinarian Dr. Marty Goldstein has been called everything from "maverick" to "miracle-worker." Attracting four legged patients from around the world, Dr. Goldstein's practice, Smith Ridge Veterinary Center, provides holistic treatment for animals after other vets have given up hope. Director Cindy Meehl ("Buck"), goes behind the scenes at Smith Ridge to capture the full drama of "Dr. Marty" and his colleagues' life-changing commitment to wellness and the astounding results they achieve. Filmed over a 2½ year period, Meehl's unobtrusive camera highlights the vulnerability of her subjects - canine and human - while tracking each animal's progress.

Deep in the forests of Piedmont, Italy, a handful of men, seventy or eighty years young, hunt for the rare and expensive white Alba truffle—which to date has resisted all of modern science's efforts at cultivation. They're guided by a secret culture and training passed down through generations, as well as by the noses of their cherished and expertly-trained dogs. They live a simpler, slower way of life, in harmony with their loyal animals and their picture-perfect land, seemingly straight out of a fairy tale. They're untethered to cell phone screens or the Internet, opting instead to make their food and drink by hand and prioritizing in-person connections and community.

The demand for white truffles increases year after year, even as the supply decreases. As a result of climate change, deforestation, and the lack of young people taking up the mantle, the truffle hunters' secrets are more coveted than ever. However, as it soon becomes clear, these ageing men may just hold something much more valuable than even this prized delicacy: the secret to a rich and meaningful life.

Endangered African species like elephants, rhinos and lions march closer to extinction each year. Their devastating decline is fueled in part by a global desire to consume these majestic animals. TROPHY investigates the powerhouse industries of big-game hunting, breeding and wildlife conservation. Through the eyes of impassioned individuals who drive these industries—from a Texas-based trophy hunter to the world’s largest private rhino breeder in South Africa—the film grapples with the consequences of imposing economic value on animals. What are the implications of treating animals as commodities? Do breeding, farming and hunting offer some of the few remaining options to conserve our endangered animals?

An epic adventure that explores the vast world of the Great North which follows a walrus, Seela and a polar bear, Nanu, on their journey from birth to adolescence to maturity and parenthood in the frozen Arctic wilderness. Once basking in a perpetual winter wonderland of snow and ice, the walrus and the polar bear are losing their beautiful icebound world as it melts from underneath them.

Moby Doc is a surrealist biographical documentary narrated by Moby as he reflects on his turbulent personal life and iconic music from underground punk bands to chart-topping solo artist, and from struggling addict to vegan activist. Featuring interviews with David Lynch and David Bowie, along with extraordinary concert footage, utilizing a unique blend of re-enactments, interviews, and archival footage, audiences will be treated to an insightful, unvarnished look at an artist who has sold more than 20 million albums, an activist who has long championed animal rights, and a man whose traumatic childhood shaped him in profound ways. This introspective journey sets out to answer existential questions of purpose and meaning by examining a life of extreme highs and lows, joy, tragedy, success and failure.

Examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods.

The film travels with animal research and wildlife conservatist Jane Goodall across several continents from her childhood home in England, to the Gombe National Park in Tanzania.

Follows the hundreds of thousands of cats who have roamed the metropolis of Istanbul freely for thousands of years, wandering in and out of people’s lives, impacting them in ways only an animal who lives between the worlds of the wild and the tamed can.