La grande prateria

"The Vanishing Prairie" is an old nature documentary from Disney that just debuted on Disney+. I enjoyed watching it very much, though the quality of the print is surprisingly poor. It's a bit fuzzy and faded...but not so much you shouldn't see it. It's not nearly as nice to see as Disney's newer nature films....though I could look past this.

The film focuses on the center portion of the United States...between the Eastern and Central portions of the country and the Rocky Mountains. Much was filmed in and around Yellowstone National Park, as many of the animals couldn't be found elsewhere in the 1950s. Featured are mostly mammals (both predators and non-predators) but you'll also see a few clips of birds and fish.

So is this worth seeing? Yep. The narration is generally good, the footage sometimes amazing and one of my only complaints (aside from the print) is the 'funny' music they sometimes used. I would have just preferred no music at all in some cases.

I imagine that a lot of viewers today, young or old, will wonder why "The Vanishing Prairie" was so popular at the time, and why it won an Academy Award. In many ways it doesn't seem very different from the countless nature documentary shows seen on television nowadays. But one has to remember that this was new stuff to audiences back in 1954. And while its approach may be familiar, the documentary still manages to entertain today. Certainly, sharp-eyed viewers will manage to point out with confidence segments that were obvious manipulated (or down right faked) in the editing room or on location. But the documentary does contain more often than not footage that is genuine (like the famous birth of a baby bison sequence) and manages to educate as well as entertain. If you're in the mood for a nature documentary and your expectations aren't extremely high, you'll likely find this to be worth your time.

1954's 'The Vanishing Prairie' is the second feature length film of Disney's 1948-1960 True Life Adventures series. Following on from 'The Living Desert', which is very good if not outstanding and a nature documentary milestone at the time. Being somebody who loves Disney and nature documentaries, as well as someone who was intrigued by films mixing the two and that it got award recognition at the time. Including the Best Documentary Feature Oscar.

An Oscar that actually was not undeserved. Like 'The Living Desert', it was unlike any other nature documentary at the time and the competition that year for the category was not large. Like 'The Living Desert' 'The Vanishing Prairie' is very good if not outstanding, which actually was the general standard of the feature films in the True Life Adventures films (do prefer the short subjects personally), and it is fascinating. Well worth the watch if curious as to how old nature documentaries were like at the time and how they come over now and how Disney did them.

'The Vanishing Prairie' is not perfect. It does go a little overboard on the jokey humour, so it can become corny in parts. While there is never anything here that is on the same level of manipulative as the scorpion mating dance in 'The Living Desert' and especially the lemmings scene in 'White Wilderness', occasionally the content was on the forced side.

However, 'The Vanishing Prairie' looks wonderful, the colour photography is so vivid in colour and never static. Showing the majestic scenery, both beautiful and uncompromising, in all its glory. Really liked the music on the whole, which was a mix of grand and catchy even if it occasionally over-emphasised the humorous moments. The animals, wonderfully varied, are a mix of adorable, sinister and fun to watch.

On the whole, the information presented is very entertaining and informative. The footage is beautifully shot and has a strong mix of emotions, boasting some memorable scenes. The bison birth sequence is a beautiful, poignant moment and one of my favourite sequences of the whole True Life Adventures series. Winston Hibler's delivery was not an issue to me, nicely deadpan at times but also always good natured.

Very good on the whole. 8/10.

It is best to treat this dated but pleasant documentary as entertainment. Paul Smith's music is incredibly evocative, especially at the birth of a bison and during the fury of a flash flood.

The tone of the narration is often downbeat, referring to qualities of this unique environment soon to be lost forever. To keep from being sucked down into this negativity, keep in mind that recent interest in preserving the prairie environment is being matched with federal assistance, and hopefully the "Vanishing Prairie" won't vanish after all.

The photography is by all accounts excellent. Disney enlisted the help of world-class nature photographers who endured hardships, disappointments, and seemingly-eternal stakeouts behind a camera lens to get just the right shot. When you see it on the screen it all looks too easy. Folks, it's not easy at all! And remember that these films were pioneering firsts that pre-dated Animal Planet, the Crocodile Hunter, and even Wild Kingdom. It started here, and it started with style.

This movie is another of Walt Disney's true life adventures. It's not a bad film, but it certainly lacks the charm and bizarreness of some of the other installments in this franchise. The narrator makes no moralistic judgments upon any of the subjects in the film, and there are no strange hoedowns involving scorpions in the middle of the film. It does give you a good sense of what nature documentaries were like 70 years ago, but apart from that it's probably not worth your time. I only forced myself to watch it for my project of watching all of Disney films, but I think even for die-hard fans of Disney, this would be a miss.