Disneynature Wings of Life Review AND FREE Educational Guide

HAPPY Earth Day! I’ve been waiting until this special day to share with you Disneynature’s newest addition, Wings of Life. It is directed by Louie Schwartzberg (“America’s Heart & Soul”) and narrated by Academy Award^® winner Meryl Streep. Filmmakers shot on location in more than a dozen areas, ranging from the El Rosario Preserve in Michoacán, Mexico, to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Park in Arizona. AND what’s just astounding to me is that they were able to capture 1500 frames PER SECOND! That’s absolutely incredible and it is definitely portrayed in the amazing footage. Have you ever seen a bat carrying it’s babies? What about watching a bee stuff pollen into the buckets on it’s legs? I can’t even fathom how they got some of these shots. It looks like the camera was INSIDE the flowers – is that even possible? I can only imagine having to stand there and hope for a bee or butterfly to come by for the footage! My absolute favorite was the video clips of the bats eating! WOW!

Check out this trailer for a glimpse of the amazing footage on Wings of Life:

I am always surprised at how Disneynature can capture life like we’ve never seen it before and weave it into a story. They did it last year with Chimpanzee and now again with Wings of Life. The entire film was narrated from the flowers perspective. It is a documentary, so don’t expect it to be booming with entertainment, but my husband and I both learn a LOT watching this film and in fact we woke up this morning to my kids watching it as well. And do you know what my 6 year old did? He went straight to school to tell his teacher all about the exotic orchid that captures a bee and keeps it until it has had the ability to attach it’s pollen sac onto the bee….it’s absolutely amazing. His teacher was so intrigued that she asked me to go home and get it so she could borrow it! And holy cow – I didn’t know that hummingbirds could be so vicious!

This is definitely a family friendly film that both you AND your kids can learn tons from….every time you watch it. I even learned some pretty astounding things about Monarch butterflies that I didn’t know! I knew what pollination was and how it happened, but this film really made me think more about it – and what would happen if we didn’t have it! Head over to check out the 10 Kid Friendly Crafts inspired by the Wings of Life!

PLUS click the image above to download 25 pages of Disneynature’s FREE educational Guide which was created by Disney’s Animal Kingdom Educational Team. Geared for grades 2-4 it helps students see the unseen world of pollinators through science, math, and art. It is chocked full of activity sheets, games, and learning units. You can purchase Wings of Life online at Amazon or in stores at your local retailer.

Disclosure: I was provided a DVD to watch in order to form my own opinions. All opinions are my own.

Watch a Monarch Butterfly Hatch:

The video above is our time lapse video – to see the full version watch it here! Full Monarch Hatching Video 

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