Walking with Monsters

Walking with Monsters covers the period from the appearance of the first marine vertebrates to the beginning of the rise of the dinosaurs - roughly from 500 to 250 m.y.a. The film shows how animal life spread from water to land, and covers some of its earlier land-based stages. The documentary is informative and comprehensive. It covers the changes in climate, the transformation of geography and plant life, and the evolution of our ancestral creatures.

The word "monsters" implies a sensationalist flavor, but the film really features animals of all scales and types, not just the biggest and the "scariest". One of the better documentaries I've seen on the subject; highly recommended. 9/10.

One more in the stunning series from BBC television. The first, "Walking with Dinosaurs" was the best, in my opinion. They put a lot of effort in these productions with top shelf animation that will satisfy viewers of any age. "Walking with Monsters" goes back in time before the dinos to a truly overlooked period in life's evolution. Animals that defied taxonomy branched off and went their own evolutionary route that ended in the greatest mass extinction in earth's history about 250 million years ago. It'll never be known how those animals would have turned out since 95% of all species died. And it may never be known what they looked like and what their behavior was, but the producers of this work filled in the unknowns with brilliant speculation and imagination. They make it seem like it's a wildlife documentary. Wide eyed kids aside, I'll bet the biggest fans are paleontologists. Not to be missed if you're interested in this genre. (Spoiler - they eat each other)

This documentary is a view of life on earth before the dinosaurs. The film begins with the creation of the Moon by the impact of the hypothetical planet Theia with the Earth. Starting with the Cambrian period 530 million years ago, the evolution of life on earth is documented, starting with the earliest of man's ancestors, the Haikouicthys, an orange "fish" the size of a thumbnail. The progress of the sea-dwelling creatures is charted as they evolve into being able to exist on land and ends where the documentary "Walking with Dinosaurs" picks up, at the end of the Triassic period, with the first dinosaurs walking the earth and forcing the smaller mammalian creatures into a nocturnal existence of hiding.

If you get the actual DVD, the extras include a thirty-minute documentary entitled Trilogy of Life. This documentary covers all of the Walking with series (Dinosaurs, Beasts, and Monsters). There are numerous interviews with the filmmakers and producers of the series. There is even footage of the real locations and backgrounds before the animated beasts were inserted by computer. It's funny to see the filmmakers kicking up dust and moving trees with wires "pretending" to be the dinosaurs since the dinosaurs would be inserted later. The documentary itself is presented with a great deal of detail and authority, as if the filmmakers know for a fact that this is exactly what took place, when in fact it is all quite hypothetical. However, you have to watch it understanding that its purpose is not to present an academic thesis. Instead, its purpose is to bring prehistory to life, just as if you were watching present-day animals being filmed, complete with animated prehistoric beasts occasionally bumping into an imaginary camera.

As children, my stepkids absolutely loved this documentary. This film just goes to prove that science can be made interesting, inviting the viewer to further investigate what is being presented. That is the purpose of the film, and it does succeed brilliantly.

The latest Walking with special follows life from one celled animals in the sea until the advent of dinosaurs. Its a thrilling trip that is the equal to the original series. Here the series looks not only at life at various times through the ages but also gives you a sense of how the various creatures may have evolved by having time lapse shots of the creatures moving up the evolutionary ladder. This is great stuff and the perfect way to begin a marathon look at how life has grown and changed over the eons. While there is the inevitable eat or be eaten theme to the whole thing you do get a nice sens that there is more to it all then just that. Also what we see here dovetails nicely with the other Walking specials so that when put together you get a sense of how life moves and evolves not only for dinosaurs but even now.

A must see, especially when coupled with the other series

What can I say, Walking With Monsters is quite possibly the greatest documentary ever. It is thrilling, suspenseful, action-packed, entertaining, and educational.

It portrays the constant struggle of life before the dinosaurs. It has some excellent CGI and music. The way it shows the prehistoric creatures are far better than how I imagined they would be.

No scenes bored me and I was always enthralled and at the edge of my seat. If you want to see a good documentary see this one. It exceeds in everything and far surpasses Dinosaur Planet and Walking With dinosaurs.

This is a spectacular documentary not to be missed.

My Rating: 9.9/10