Finally, for many of us, it’s the holiday season. Time to lounge back on the couch, bundle up in your fuzziest blanket, and pour a cup of creamy hot chocolate. You might spend the holidays with your friends laughing over a board game, or having a hearty meal at the table with your family.

As conversations at the table roar on, the topic may switch to a political one … or an environmental one. Eyes roll, the room fills with groans, and suddenly you’re wondering when dessert will come out. So you offer something neutral, “Why don’t we put on a movie?” Because sometimes, movies can reach places arguments never will, especially environmental ones.  

Environmental storytelling isn’t all doom and gloom, and doesn’t even need to mention climate change. They’re stories where nature comes alive.That is what makes narratives so powerful; they don’t just tell people what to believe. They let people experience it. 

Nature Has a Mind of Its Own in Moana

Moana, the 2016 animated Disney film, follows a girl with a deep connection to nature, particularly the ocean. Her community on the small island of Motunui relies on nearby resources like fish and fruit, and life there is idyllic: resources are plentiful, the ocean stretches clear for miles, and sunsets glow pink every evening. That peace is shattered when the coast no longer teems with fish and the coconuts begin to rot. The island’s prosperity depends on Te Fiti, the life-creating goddess who formed the ocean’s islands. When her heart is stolen, that life-giving force collapses, and the islands she created begin to suffer.

The ocean chooses Moana to save her people and is personified as a playful, almost mischievous character with a mind of its own. Its ripples and waves take on limb-like qualities, grabbing objects or even giving high-fives. The ocean guides Moana to Maui, the thief who stole Te Fiti’s heart and helps her find Te Fiti herself but not before saving her seemingly every time she encounters danger. 

When Moana falls overboard, the ocean places her back on the boat. At one point, Moana and Maui are confronted by a crew of coconut pirates, and the ocean saves them by pushing their boat away. In Moana’s final battle against Te Kā, the ocean opens a safe pathway to where she can safely restore the heart of Te Fiti.  This anthropomorphization of the ocean creates empathy for the environment itself and makes the harm it faces feel personal, even without directly saying “climate change.”

Moana reminds us that nature nurtures us when we nurture it. The ocean takes care of Moana throughout her journey, and she returns that favor by restoring the heart. Moana cleverly highlights the importance of balance between us and the natural world without preaching to us. 

Lessons of Coexistence with Flow

In Flow, another animated film, the characters speak in sounds we are not fluent in. Barks, trills, grunts, squeaks, and sighs fill in where dialogue would typically be. Released in 2024, Flow took home the Academy Award for Best Animated Film. The film follows a curious black cat living alone in a forest near human-made ruins, and it’s clear that humans are no longer around. Soon, rushing water floods the area, and the cat struggles to find high ground. At the last moment, a rickety boat floats along, and the cat jumps in.

The cat makes alliances with an unlikely group of lonely animals: a capybara very focused on finding the best place to sleep, a lemur obsessed with collecting human artifacts, a golden retriever always trying to start a game, and a secretary bird, once exiled from his own flock and now the protector of the group. The world of Flow is lush and vibrant, where the absence of humans gives nature dominance. Very reminiscent of when animals and insects became more visible during the COVID-19 lockdown. 

The environment manifests as its own character, behaving with its own intentional decisions rather than just an aesthetic background. The rising water isolates characters, brings them back together, and chooses where they go in this new flooded world. As a film that lacks dialogue, the viewer is dependent on following the ebbs and flows of the landscape to understand the movie’s direction. 

Chinatown: Lessons From the Landscape 

Under the blistering sun and still air of 1930s Southern California, a tale of corruption and resource manipulation unfolds. Chinatown, the iconic 1974 film starring Jack Nicholson, as detective Jake Gittes, is set in the dusty landscape of California’s Water Wars. During this time, the natural environment of Los Angeles is being manipulated for urban expansion, and the expanding city desperately needs water. The city proposes a route to bring water to the city, but at the cost of surrounding farmers and their livelihoods. 

You may turn Chinatown on to scratch that neo-noir detective itch, but instead walk away with a new understanding of how resources shape power. It reveals how nature can be manipulated as a political weapon. At one point, Jake Gittes hears from farmers who voice their concerns for their dry fields and withering crops. They insist that water is being secretly diverted away from their land at night, leaving them with nothing, while the city still receives its supply. 

Jake discovers that huge plots of bone-dry land are being bought up by mysterious investors. The land is useless, nothing but dust. Why would anyone want it? It turns out that the investors are buying the land for the value it will have once the city’s water supply is redirected back. 

Water is no longer just a resource for survival; it has become a commodity. Conflicts over water rights are not a modern issue; they are part of an ongoing struggle over who controls the fate of the natural world.

Narrative Storytelling Can Change Our Minds

By utilizing powerful stories, movie makers drop cognitive guards, allowing climate-skeptics to gain a deeper understanding of our codependence with the environment. 

Moana shows that the boundary between the natural world and humanity is much thinner than we’d expect. By caring about the animals in Flow, we might make subtle changes in what we value in the real world and how we respect other species. Chinatown exposes our dependence on natural resources and how that can be manipulated for power. These aren’t “climate movies,” but rather wonderful stories that remind us why the environment matters in the first place, and how every aspect of our daily lives depends on its success in some way.

If you enjoyed this article on environmental films, consider reading about how sci-fi films may predict our environmental future or how environmental films offer lessons to our climate crisis. Consider adonation to EARTHDAY.ORG to support further research and awareness, andsign up for our weekly newsletter.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is cleared for use with attribution. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at davies@earthday.org or fielder@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

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On October 31st we revel in all things spooky, scary, supernatural, AND everything to do with lemurs! That’s right, it’s World Lemur Day! 

At EARTHDAY.ORG, lemurs hold a special place in our hearts. Since starting the Canopy Tree Project in 2010, EARTHDAY.ORG has worked to reforest communities across the world, including in Ambatobe, Madagascar where 60,000 trees were planted to restore the forest. This regrowth benefits all species, but particularly lemurs, since 98% of lemurs in Madagascar face extinction, and habitat loss is a key factor. 

However, lemurs aren’t the only species at risk; from cheetahs, to rhinos, to panthers, to manatees, to owls, thousands of species are reaching a critical point. Here are five nature documentaries that will help you better understand the threats facing endangered species and inspire you to take action to support their right to life.

Wild Connection (Kenya)

The cheetah, the world’s fastest land animal, is racing toward extinction. Its global population has plummeted from around 100,000 in the 1900s to 7,100 in 2016. Today, it’s estimated that less than 7,000 exist in the wild. Habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, and the illegal exotic pet trade are the primary threats to these cats. 

The short documentary “Wild Connection,” directed by Jack Zakrajsek, offers a hopeful glimpse into cheetah conservation efforts. The film follows Nick Kleer, a corporate worker turned conservationist, and his wife, Kristina, as they develop deep, personal bonds with cheetahs at Tiger Canyon Private Game Reserve in South Africa. 

Though the focus is on South Africa, the film’s message about conservation is universal, connecting to the cheetah’s plight across Africa. In the documentary, viewers see Kleer’s unique rewilding approach as cheetahs acclimated to  human presence are prepared for release into the wild. By showcasing the power of an empathetic connection between humans and wildlife, the film makes a compelling argument that we can be a positive force in species survival, reminding viewers that, like Kleer says, “If you can’t love it, you can’t save it.”

Path of the Panther (United States)

Having once roamed the entire South East, Florida Panthers are now confined to a tiny stretch along the Gulf of Mexico. It’s estimated that only about 200 panthers remain in the wild. “Path of the Panther,” directed by Eric Bendick, catalogues the efforts by photographers, veterinarians, ranchers, indigenous people, and conservationists to track and protect the endangered Florida Panther. Stunning images of panthers lightly springing over streams, recovering after hurricanes, and finally crossing the Caloosatche River (no female panther had been seen in this territory since 1973) captured by Carlton Ward Jr., a National Geographic Photographer, make a compelling argument to preserve the land. 

The film also highlights tensions surrounding development in southern Florida. In 2020, a proposal for three new toll roads threatened to fragment wildlife habitat, ranches, farms, and spur residential development in previously wild areas. 

One proposed road, the Southwest-Central Florida Connector, would have passed directly through Florida Panther habitat. Community opposition was swift, and while it might be a spoiler to say more, the film’s story of resilience, survival, and community is certainly worth a watch. 

Saving the World’s Rarest Lemurs | In Her Nature Special (Madagascar) 

Thought to be extinct in the 1970s, there are still fewer than 1,000 greater bamboo lemurs living in the wild. Considered critically endangered after their latest assessment for the IUCN Red List in 2018, these lemurs’ diets are 95% bamboo. As slash and burn agriculture, a farming technique that involves deforesting sections of a forest and burning undergrowth, continues to destroy lemur habitat, many bamboo lemurs are struggling to find enough bamboo to eat. 

“Saving the World’s Rarest Lemurs,” an episode of the “In Her Nature” series on PBS, highlights the work of Maholy Ravaloharimanitra, a Malagasy conservationist. She works with communities in Madagascar to survey, protect, and preserve greater bamboo lemur populations and habitat. 

A brief 22 minute feature, the documentary opens with picturesque images of lemurs peering out from trees in the Ambalafary Forest before focusing on Ravaloharimanitra’s community-centered approach to conservation. By helping Malagasy farmers learn principles of agroforestry, develop finance plans, and plan ahead for sufficient yields, Ravaloharimintara hopes to change community narratives around slash and burn agriculture. If you need an adorable lemur fix and an uplifting story to get you through a long week, this documentary is the perfect option for you. 

The Last Rhinos: A New Hope (Kenya)

Devastated by poaching and habitat loss, the last male white rhino died in 2018. Today, only two female Northern White Rhinos remain in the world. With the females functionally extinct and unable to carry a pregnancy to term, preservation efforts for the species relies on a team of scientists who are trying to use in vitro fertilization to preserve northern white rhinos via surrogacy. 

“The Last Rhinos: A New Hope,” directed by Katie Cleary, follows photographer Ami Vitale and a team of scientists and conservationists who work with the two surviving female rhinos at the Olj Pejeta conservancy in Kenya. This moving documentary chronicles the effort of the international BioRescue team to adapt cutting-edge reproductive technologies to the Northern White Rhino. 

The film offers a hopeful, and urgent, look at how far science and humans are willing to go to correct a conservation catastrophe before it’s too late. 

Burrowing Owls: A Love Story (North America)

The burrowing owl, a charismatic, long-legged bird that lives underground in abandoned prairie dog or ground squirrel burrows, is endangered in Canada and declining in the western United States, primarily due to habitat loss from development and agriculture. The number of breeding pairs continues to fall in Canada, where it’s estimated that only 270 breeding pairs remain. 

“Burrowing Owls: A Love Story,” directed by Alan Lacy, follows the remarkable work of owl biologist David H. Johnson, whose groundbreaking efforts (quite literally!) have helped restore this endangered bird to parts of its historic range, particularly in Oregon. At one site in Oregon, Johnson has dug over 182 artificial burrows to help preserve the owl’s breeding grounds. Interspersed with touching images of an owl family fighting to survive the loss of their grassland habitat, this short film will have any viewer ready to fight for our changing planet. 

Acting for All Species

These five documentaries reveal a powerful truth: the conservation challenges that species face are interconnected. Habitat loss, fragmentation, and human encroachment are global threats, but the solutions are often local, driven by community involvement, scientific innovation, and individual passion.

As EARTHDAY.ORG continues our mission to restore forests in Madagascar, for lemurs and other species, we are reminded that celebrating World Lemur Day on October 31st is about more than just a single animal; it’s a celebration of global biodiversity and the people fighting to protect it. 

The stories of resilience and hope captured in these films can inspire us all. Whether it’s through supporting organizations on the ground, advocating for sensible land policies, or educating ourselves and others, every action helps. 

Today, as extinction rates climb, consider supporting lemurs and other species by donating to the Canopy Tree Project and helping preserve the world’s forests. 

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is cleared for use with attribution. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at davies@earthday.org or fielder@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

The post 5 Crazy Documentaries that Will Help You Advocate for Endangered Species appeared first on Earth Day.