Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Hidden Kingdoms Blu-ray Movie Review

Don't let this little documentary series scurry by unseen...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown July 11, 2014

Fun, fascinating and light on its feet, executive producer Mike Gutton's Hidden Kingdoms is an all-ages documentary told from the wildly entertaining perspective of some of the planet's smallest masters of survival. Shot using a variety of techniques, the 3-part series isn't a pure natural history doc per se -- the BBC Natural History Unit filmmakers employ somewhat controversial but thankfully limited, altogether judicious uses of compositing, artificial environments and other clever sleight of hand -- but remains a dazzling, dizzying tour of desert trails, forest underbrush and urban jungles that features a truly memorable cast of mammals, reptiles and insects. More importantly, the careful implementation of high-speed photography and other tools of the trade, as well as an eye for authenticity above all else, provides incredible insight into a world that often goes unnoticed and unexplored, allowing the team to weave a tale as delightful as it is compelling, amusing as it is moving, and engaging as it is educational.

Once more serious natural history aficionados get past the series' cutesy, kid-oriented touches (the occasional use of light, cartoonish sound effects chief among them), they'll find it more and more difficult to deny the infectious appeal of the featured animals' misadventures and perilous journeys. My wife and I were already fans, despite preferring more complex, unflinching documentaries. Watching it with seven kids in the room, though, ages 3 to 10 (only one of them ours, thank God), was another experience entirely. The laughter was so thick, the requests to rewind and watch entire sequences again so common, the cheers and gasps so frequent that you would have thought someone had somehow transported the lovably personable creatures into our home theater for all to see. Some of the anthropomorphic gags and narrative magic are completely manufactured, sure. But it's always in keeping with the spirit of discovery and education, and never betrays whatever animal happens to be in the spotlight. Stephen Fry's wry narration only helps, as does the exceedingly effective sense of size, scale, scope, perspective and speed. The filmmakers will be the first to admit it sometimes relies on more approximation than revelation, but it's also as close as anyone could possibly come to capturing every nuance of the day to day joys and struggles of the series' tiny stars.

The 3-part series features the following episodes:

• Under Open Skies: This is the story of two young animals forced to grow up fast. In Africa's savannah, a baby elephant shrew, also known as a Sengi, learns that speed is the secret to survival amongst the largest animals on Earth. Meanwhile, in the venomous American west, a grasshopper mouse confronts the desert's deadliest creatures to stake a claim of his own.
• Secret Forests: This is the story of two tiny animals coming of age. In the wild woods of North America, a young chipmunk is gathering a vital store of nuts ahead of his first winter. In his way are ruthless rivals and giant predators. Then, in the steaming rainforest, a young tree shrew is forced deep into the jungle to find food. She must draw on all her intelligence and agility if she is to escape the ultimate predator: a reticulated python.
• Urban Jungle: This is the ultimate hidden kingdom. In the colorful and chaotic streets of Rio, a marmoset is separated from his street gang and forced to confront of the dangers of the city. Elsewhere, in the futuristic metropolis of Tokyo, a rhinoceros beetle escapes his captors and begins an extraordinary journey through this alien world to find sanctuary.

Hidden Kingdoms Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hidden Kingdoms features a 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 presentation with no discernible issues of note. Obviously the various cameras employed throughout the series lead to some inherent video anomalies, as does the use of high speed photography, compositing and other techniques. But the BBC encode is rarely, if ever, the culprit and hardly ever disappoints. Colors are vivid and lifelike, primaries pop, contrast is strong and consistent, and delineation is excellent. Black levels are a touch muted by way of the digital source, but remain satisfying on the whole. Likewise, detail fluctuates a bit but always as the photography dictates. Edges are often crisp and clean, though, fine textures surprisingly exacting and close-ups extremely revealing (particularly as it pertains to fur, scales, dirt and debris). Better still, macroblocking, banding, aliasing, ringing and other eyesores are kept to a bare minimum, and, again, only appear when the source is at fault. All told, Hidden Kingdoms' breathtaking visuals are only strengthened by BBC Home Entertainment's proficient presentation.

Hidden Kingdoms Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There's little to complain about when it comes to Hidden Kingdoms' DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, other than the nature of its too-cute-for-its-own-good sound design. There also isn't a lot to get excited about. Stephen Fry's narration is prioritized above all, as is par for the course, and ambient effects, though able-bodied, are generally faint and fleeting. LFE output follows suit -- capable but restrained -- as does rear speaker activity, which is playful and directionally precise yet rather unremarkable. None of that is to suggest there's something wrong with the lossless track; just that it gets the job done, thankless as that job tends to be.

Hidden Kingdoms Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Hidden Kingdoms Revealed (HD, 30 minutes): Curious how the BBC Natural History Unit photographers captured and created such striking shots? Attached to each episode is a revealing behind-the-scenes featurette (approximately 10 minutes a piece) that details the techniques and tricks of the trade the film team utilized to shoot footage from such unique perspectives.
• Mike Gutton Introduction (HD, 2 minutes): A brief introduction courtesy of executive producer Mike Gutton. More a promo than anything more insightful, it nevertheless offers interview snippets with other members of the production team.
• Creating the Shot: Compositing (HD, 4 minutes): Though rather redundant in light of the "Revealed" featurettes, this shorter, secondary overview examines some of the shots created using blue screen and compositing.
• Creating the Shot: The Grasshopper Mouse (HD, 2 minutes): A look at the development of the crane shot that occurs as the grasshopper mouse is leaving home for the first time. Included is the original animatic for the sequence and the raw elements that were pieced together to create the final shot.
• Creating the Score (HD, 2 minutes): Another short featurette, this one focusing on the series' music.
• Extended Scene (HD, 3 minutes): An extended scene in which the Sengi continues to clean its trails.
• Storyboarding the Beetles (HD, 2 minutes): Director Gavin Maxwell discusses the use of storyboards.

Hidden Kingdoms Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sticklers for natural history methodology may not approve of the techniques used to create Hidden Kingdoms' photography, but the results are undeniably striking, informative and entertaining; a rare trifecta no matter the cost. The fact that the BBC NHU filmmakers are as transparent about their approach as they are, and the fact that it would be near impossible to achieve such stunning sequences any other way makes it all the more forgivable. Those who aren't concerned with such things, though, will be free to enjoy the series at face value, and enjoy it they will. Children will be particularly hypnotized by the animals and their journeys, making this a family-friendly documentary worth owning. Fortunately, the Blu-ray release is as good as the series, with excellent video, solid audio and a decent selection of revealing special features.