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Hannah Agnew

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Animals. They take up a lot of space on our planet. From the tiny plankton to the giant white sharks, they're all over the place.

Last weekend I went to the movie theatre to watch the movie Earth with my sister and mother. While walking into the theatre I knew I wouldn't necessarily be thrilled while watching the movie. Documentaries have never been of much interest to me.

As we sat in our seats, popcorn in hand, the commercials began. Both my sister and my mom seemed psyched to watch the movie.

As the movie commenced I noticed the unusual camera angles and the way the scenes were being shot. Only now, do I realize that the filmmakers were using things like hot-air balloons and helicopters to tape these angles.

The movie starts out by following a family of polar bears. A mother bear emerges from a small hole in the ground. The narrator informs us that the polar bear hasn't eaten for six months. Eventually the two cutest, smallest little lumps of fur stumble their way through the burrow and onto the snow above.

At this very moment I became very into the movie. It was suddenly very interesting to me.

Half way through the movie I noticed that Mhairi, my sister, had suddenly become very bored. She began to sink in her seat and yawn more often. She just wasn't interested.

Later, she felt a bit upset in spots when the smallest creatures were the most vulnerable.

I'm not sure if this has to do with age or enthusiasm or maybe even the time of night but if given the chance to watch the movie again, I believe Mhairi would not agree to see it once more, unlike me.

I'd have to say that seeing the animals through thick times is heartbreaking. While watching a herd of caribou running freely I knew that, according to the unwritten, unofficial rules of film making, something was going to go wrong.

Sure enough, in came a big white wolf. The wolf ran after a small calf for miles until the caribou tripped and the wolf caught it between his teeth.

I realize this is just the cycle of life, but put yourself in that calf's shoes (and I know they don't wear shoes...).

Bring that situation into your own life. If a predator was chasing after you and you had the power to stay away for miles and miles but suddenly you trip over a rock. The wolf gets you. Imagine the feelings going through you, other then fear.

Another thing that I noticed was that humans are horrible to the poor creatures surrounding us. One of the polar bears, seen at the beginning of the movie, actually died because of starvation. The ice, his hunting platform, had deteriorated and he could not find food.

He spent much of his time swimming to find a solid platform he could fish from, but didn't find one.

We are doing this to the ice. Our Earth is warming every year.

"Earth" has definitely refreshed my mind of all that happens to the animals on this planet. Earth is not only ours, it belongs to the animals too.

* Hannah Agnew is a Grade 8 student at Edith Cavell. Her column appears weekly in Whatever.