Search - Animals Are Beautiful People on DVD

Great movie for kids

Julia Flyte | 06/04/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This documentary is covers the wildlife of Southern Africa. The animals are introduced in a very entertaining way, with a story about each that kids can really relate to eg the duck who pretends to be injured to distract the hyena away from her babies, the daddy ostrich protecting his eggs, the chimps who cartwheel down the hill, the fish who swallows her young to keep them safe. Along the way there is footage of other animals who are just interesting to look at. The photography is often stunning and the classical music score fits it well. The pace is quite quick, which is good as it holds a child's attention.



I bought this DVD for my five year old son because I remember seeing and loving the movie as a child. I wasn't sure how the movie would have aged, but it still looks pretty good. Now that I'm older I can spot flaws that I missed as a child - scenes that have clearly been set up by the filmmakers or edited together from different pieces of footage. This doesn't detract from its appeal as a family movie.



If you're a wildlife purist who is after a serious documentary, this isn't for you. But if you want an entertaining introduction to African wildlife, it's perfect. The reviewer who complains about the way that clouds are personalised is missing the point - this is a film that speaks to a child's imagination. My son loves it, although some of it is over his head and I can tell he'll get more out of it when he's a couple of years older. Nevertheless, I'm happy to have weaned him off Nick Jnr for a while!"

The best and funniest animal video our family has ever seen

Julia Flyte | 08/28/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"we saw this video many years ago, and loved it so much that we have been looking for it ever since. It is the best and funniest animal video, we have ever seen, and we have seen lots of them. We would highly recommend this for families to watch."

The real world

Jeanne Lynn | Winter Park, Florida United States | 04/20/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great animal video, I have passed it around to my teachers at school and friends are standing in line, the narrator is the same talented guy that did " The Gods Must be Crazy", you will see some scenes from the movie you will remember, a real aborigene trying to fake out an ostrich. The animals all have a grand time getting drunk one day out of the year on fermented fruit, the elephants are knee walking, the giraffe can't hold his neck up and the monkeys are made of silly putty. The baby pelicans that have to do a death march is the low of the movie, nature is as cruel as beautiful, and you see it all here, two thumbs up."

A masterpiece among nature documentaries.

Jeanne Lynn | 03/15/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I recommend this film for anyone's edification and amusement. It's funny how when I came across the tape in Blockbuster I recognized it from seeing part of it on ABC some fifteen years earlier. It uses the same theme that Aesop, C.S. Lewis, and Beatrix Potter used - that various kinds of animals have various personalities, ones that we see in various people.This music makes excellent use of celebrated musical pieces, such as "Trepak" and "Waltz of the Flowers" from Tchaikowsky's *Nutcracker Suite*, "Clair De Lune" and "Sunrise" from Grieg's *Peer Gynt Suite*."