• click here to return to the homepage •
or 
Home > Categories > Entertainment > Television > Hidden Kingdoms review
SMALL WORLDS, GIANT STORIES
Imagine what it's like to be shrunk down and immersed in a magical world of fantastical creatures living incredible, action-packed lives. With a cast of miniature marvels all less than a foot in size, these superheroes may be small but they pack a punch way above their weight. Chipmunks, elephant shrews, marmosets, scorpion mice, even giant rhinoceros beetles all face drama on a different scale - when you are this small rain drops fall like meteorites and a breeze feels like a tornado!
Filmed against the backdrop of the planet's most iconic landscapes - savannah, desert, jungle, forest, and the cities of Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro - this series, narrated by Steven Fry, explores these worlds from a new and unique perspective. The challenges our mini-heroes face are exceptional and their enemies gigantic... but their solutions are ingenious. Prepare to be amazed, entertained and fascinated by our planet's Hidden Kingdoms. It's time for the little guys to take centre stage!
Bob the Builder - Snowed Under: The Bobblesberg Winter Games
A Bit of Fry and Laurie - Series 1
Doctor Who - The Mutants
Beyblades - Volume 6: The Battle Royal
Sarah Jane Adventures - Series 2
Fireman Sam Mountain Rescue
Born to Royalty
An Idiot Abroad: Series Two
Guess How Much I Love You; The End of The Rainbow
ABC For Kids Ready For School
Bates Motel: Season Three
How to Get Away With Murder (Season 1)
The Orville: Season 1Product reviews...
Review by: kymmage (Kym)
Dated: 13th of April, 2014
This DVD was absolutely wonderful. My favourite presenter, Stephen Fry, lends his voice to this fascinating three part series on small creatures. I love Stephen Fry, and watch him in anything I can get my hands on. I also love confusing my husband, so when I put the first episode on he looked at me, perplexed. Eventually he realised it was Fry, but he was listening intently and saying "I know that voice!" for a few minutes.
The episodes are about an hour long each. They spend about 50 minutes on two different animals, telling their story of survival in a world made for bigger creatures. Then they use the last piece of the documentary to give you some insight into how they did it. How they got us a view into that world. I really liked this piece because you got to see all the trouble the crew and camera people have to go to. All the wandering about in the dark with heavy equipment. All the seemingly aimless approach, which leads up to the amazing scenes.
Some of it is so constructed that it's not really "reality" at all. There is definitely some movie magic in there. In some ways, that made me feel a bit better for when they seemed to be in danger, the reality was they were pretty safe. Of course, they live in the wild so they aren't safe but I guess they are mainly seasoned at living in the wild. There are parts of the show where I hid behind a pillow much to my daughter's amusement. I have trouble with intense stories and the little mouse and the elephant shrew had some very hairy calls.
This allowed my daughter and I to have quite a lengthy discussion as well, about the circle of life and how each animal has a food source and is one as well. As sad as it is, we couldn't wipe out a carnivore because the knock on effect on our world might be really awful. Later after we watched the last episode, she sat down and made a nature book all about different animals, what they eat and their mating grounds too. So I think she was very much as engaged as I was in the stories of the animals.
Random listing from 'Entertainment'...
You'll discover just how amazing the world can be with your Hi-5 Friends! Amazing is a colourful, fun-filled journey that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy as Casey, Fely, Lauren, Stevie and Tim take you to places beyond imagination! From adventures deep down under the sea to quests in outer space and everything in between your Hi-5 friends make sure you L.O.V.E., love every moment!
RATING: G
NUMBER OF DISCS: 1
All trademarks, images and copyrights on this site are owned by their respective companies.
KIWIreviews is an independent entity, part of the Knock Out News Group. This is a free public forum presenting user opinions on selected products, and as such the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of kiwireviews.nz and are protected under New Zealand law by the "Honest Opinion" clause of the Defamation Act of 1992. KIWIreviews accepts no liability for statements made on this site, on the premise that they have been submitted as the true and honest opinions of the individual posters. In most cases, prices and dates stated are approximate and should be considered as only guidelines.
"Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?"
unattributed
