Disney Launches New Nature Film Label

BURBANK, April 22: The
Walt Disney Studios has launched Disneynature, a new production unit focused on
feature-length nature documentaries.

Disneynature’s first
theatrical release will be the film Earth, from Alastair Fothergill, a British producer/director whose credits
include the Emmy and Peabody-winning Planet Earth series (BBC and the Discovery Channel) and The
Blue Planet.

Earth
will debut in the U.S. on April
22, 2009, in honor of Earth Day. The film will also be released under the
Disneynature banner in Latin America. The film is produced by BBC Worldwide and
Greenlight Media, and co-directed by Mark Linfield. Narrated by actor James
Earl Jones, it will take moviegoers on a tour of our planet as it's never been
seen before. Disney will offer company-wide support for Earth and every Disneynature release.

"At Disneynature, we
will work with the world's greatest documentary filmmakers to show audiences
the beauty and drama of nature," commented Jean-Francois Camilleri, who
will be heading up the new production unit from Walt Disney Studios Motion
Pictures (France). In addition to providing compelling entertainment that
audiences of all ages and backgrounds can enjoy, we also hope to raise
awareness of the many ways that everyone and anyone can do their part to help
our planet."

Among
the other Disneynature projects currently in development or production are: The
Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos,
which is slated for a worldwide rollout beginning December 2008 and presents a
birds-eye view of the mysterious lives of flamingos on the isolated shores of
Lake Natron in northern Tanzania; Oceans, which will be released in the U.S. in 2010 and sees French
co-directors Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud set out to capture the full
expanse of the world’s oceans; and Orangutans: One Minute to Midnight, which is set for worldwide release in 2010 and
features the true story of a 6-year-old male orangutan and his little sister
who must take an incredible journey to find a home and a family. There are two
projects set for worldwide release in 2011: Big Cats, which centers on three mothers—a lioness, a
leopard and a cheetah—as they explore their world on the great plains of
Africa, and Naked Beauty: A Love Story that Feeds the Earth, in which macro photography takes viewers to the
realm of flowers and their pollinators. Rounding out the slate is Chimpanzee, which will roll out worldwide in 2012 and takes
an intimate look at chimpanzees in the wild.

"We
love balancing heritage and innovation and Disneynature is a perfect example of
this,” said Robert A. Iger, the president and CEO of The Walt Disney Company.
“We are placing the legacy of Disney's True-Life Adventures in the hands of great modern filmmakers using
dazzling technology. Disneynature is a concept we look forward to building
across the company and across the globe for years to come. And, we hope these films will
contribute to a greater understanding and appreciation of the beauty and
fragility of our natural world."

—By Irene Lew