Disney+ is bringing tales of nature and the power of humanity to protect, change, and connect with it to screens everywhere for this upcoming Earth Day. During the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, the streamer outlined its plans to commemorate the planet with three new movies - Polar Bear, Explorer: The Last Tepui, and The Biggest Little Farm: The Return. Each of the specials will drop exclusively on Disney+ on Friday, April 22.
Polar Bear, a Disneynature film narrated by Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener (Capote, Being John Malkovich), follows the life of a polar bear mother who needs to use the knowledge she gained growing up to protect and teach her young cubs in a world that's grown more and more difficult for her species. Alastair Fothergill and Jeff Wilson take the reins and are joined as producers by Jason Roberts, Keith Scholey, and Roy Conli. The directing duo previously created another famous Disneynature film in 2019's Penguins.
Explorer: The Last Tepui, meanwhile, is the latest addition to National Geographic's long-running Explorer series. In this adventure, expert climber Alex Honnold (Free Solo) is joined by National Geographic Explorers Mark Synnot and Bruce Means along with their climbing team as they try to scale a 1,000-foot sheer cliff deep in the Amazon Rainforest. The goal is to get Means, a Biologist looking to fulfill his life's goal, up to one of the last remaining tepuis. The special aims to teach viewers why these tepuis, which are essentially biologically diverse sky islands, are crucial to protect for future generations.
Finally, The Biggest Little Farm: The Return is a follow-up to an award-winning 2018 documentary from National Geographic that followed couple John and Molly Chester as they left behind life in Los Angeles for an old farm in Ventura County in need of some love. This film will document their ten-year venture to turn the barren farmland into the now-successful and sustainable Apricot Lane Farms. Viewers will be treated to all the happenings on the farm, meeting the animals that live alongside the Chester family, including an expecting mother pig named Emma and a cute lamb named Moe. Moreover, the film is marketed as a testament to humans' ability to promote biodiversity and sustain the surrounding land.
Last year, Disney+ went with quite a different strategy to celebrate the planet.
The National Geographic YouTube channel held a live stream featuring renowned biologists and scientists from around the world on Earth Day Eve before launching Secret of the Whales on the streamer. In total, the movies they have in store this time around are pretty diverse, exploring various facets of our planet and how we can make a difference.
You can catch all of this exclusive Earth Day content on Disney+ on April 22.