In honor of Earth Month, Disney+ is launching a series on nature films, beginning April 3.
Disneynature titles are included, often with celebrity narrators. Disneynature is a 12-year-old independent film unit of Walt Disney headquartered in Paris.
Kicking off the new lineup is “Dolphin Reef,” narrated by Oscar winner Natalie Portman (“Black Swan,” “Thor”). It is the 14th nature documentary to be released under the Disneynature label. The film tracks a young Pacific bottlenose dolphin and the coral reef where he lives. Keith Scholey (“Bears”) directs.
Another high-watt narrator is Meghan Markle, the wife of Prince Harry, who relates the story of “Elephant.” The film follows African elephant Shani and her son Jomo as the herd crosses the Kalahari Desert in search of a better home. Markle signed a voiceover deal with Disney in January in exchange for a contribution to the Botswana wildlife charity Elephants Without Borders, according to The Times UK.
Both films begin April 3. So do other Disneynature efforts, including “Penguins,” “In the Footsteps of Elephant, “A Life on the Edge,” and “Diving With Dolphins.”
Throughout the month, Disney+ will showcase a series of animal and nature films, such as National Geographic’s “America’s National Parks,” “Wild Yellowstone,” “The Flood,” “JANE,” “Before the Floods,” “Planet of the Birds,” “Sea of Hope: America’s Underwater Treasures,” “Kingdom of the White Wolf,” “Tree Climbing Lions,” Hostile Planet” and “Wild Russia.”
Supporting oceans and marine life worldwide, Disney provides grants to aid conservation organizations and communities to establish coral nurseries to re-grow damaged reefs and build fisheries.