Do you have the next David Attenborough on your hands? Does your child show an early love for exploring nature? Or maybe they are fascinated by animals, saying hello to every one they see? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then check out some of the movies on this list to help spark your little environmentalist’s passion!
The Lorax
Rating: PG
Release Year: 2012
The Lorax can help your child understand how important trees are to not only us as humans, but to their entire ecosystem. It covers topics such as sustainable agriculture, deforestation, and pollution. The call-to-action at the end of the movie is truly amazing: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not”
Happy Feet
Rating: PG
Release Year: 2006
While Mumble’s dance moves are of course a highlight of the film, there are many themes revolving around protecting the environment! Mumble helps a rockhopper penguin who is stuck in plastic pollution, and the movie ends with the banning of overfishing in Antarctica!
FernGully: The Last Rainforest
Rating: G
Release Year: 1992
A rainforest free from human pollution sounds too good to be true! In this movie, a group of fairies, along with a bat named Batty Koda, fight to protect their rainforest from deforestation. An evil spirit, named Hexxus, thrives off of this pollution and destruction, and is determined to destroy FernGully.
WALL-E
Rating: G
Release Year: 2008
It may seem silly to call a movie about futuristic robots a “nature movie”, but WALL-E is a great cautionary tale about what could happen if we don’t protect our planet. WALL-E and EVE help save the day, and bring Earth back from a garbage-filled wasteland, to a plant-filled paradise!
Hoot
Rating: PG
Release Date: 2006
While it may be a lesser-known movie, Hoot has a very strong message about protecting the environment. Three kids are trying to prevent a burrowing owl habitat from being destroyed, and their habitat from being built over by a construction team. This film also contains many familiar faces such as Brie Larson, Logan Lerman, and Jimmy Buffett!
Planet Earth
Rating: TV-PG
Release Year: 2006
It might not be a movie, but we can’t talk about nature programming without mentioning Planet Earth! Be warned, some episodes do have scenes involving hunting prey, so make sure to watch any episodes by yourself first before showing them to the kids!
We hope these movies will help fuel the passion of the next generation of conservationists! If you do want to see some of these amazing animals in person, we do public tours 364 days a year, and tickets can be purchased at https://www.turpentinecreek.org/plan-your-trip/buy-tickets/