Growing Up Animal

This was a pretty good look into the lives and beginnings of individual species. However, the narrator, Tracee Ellis Ross, has a tone geared towards children. Too sweet and lovey dovey for the adult viewer. Having seen many animal documentaries, I think Nat Geo could have gotten a better voice to narrate. It got a little annoying to listen to after a while. Overall, a pretty good series, otherwise.

What a lovely series. Great for child to adult. Fascinating and poignant. The narrator is lovely. One reviewer stated that the narrator ruined it for him/her because of the narrator, Tracee Ellis Ross, story telling manner. Not at all. Get out of your own way and let your inner child come out and be awed by the wonder of these stories. Lovely narration.

It is true the overall tone of the show is a bit mellow, but this is clearly the point: it is meant to be heartwarming, and yes, it is addressed more towards children (e.g. In the wild dog episode, the successful hunts are not shown, just the afterwards meal). It is still enjoyable for adults though; it's not at the level of Our Planet, but still a very nice and informative series. I do wish we would have a bit less of 'magical' and 'miraculous' - rather, this is exactly the opposite - but that's not a real complaint.

In terms of content, obviously some animals (bears, elephants, sea lions) win the cuteness contest. In contrast, our cousins the chimps are, let's face it, a bit disgusting, with their butts and their grooming each other then eating what they found in there, but well, they're still not the most embarassing member at the hominid family gathering, isn't that right, Sapiens?

I don't agree with the other critical review.

This is a show about animal babies from pre-birth through the first couple of years of life. I don't know what sort of narration would be better/more appropriate to this subject material; I find that the narration provided was quite suitable for this content and in keeping with the ambience of the documentary. I don't think this is the only way to do it, but I would certainly never say that the narration "killed it for me" in the context of the touching, heartwarming material being presented.

The photography is gorgeous - both in terms of content and how much is revealed in closeups. This is some of the most touching material I have ever seen - this is what "reality television" should be about rather than silly, contrived situations that have no connection with anyone's life.

Thank you, Disney, for a job well done. I hope there will be more such segments in the near future.