Earth - The Score

Today for school we watched an amazing movie called "Earth." It was put out by Disneynature. We found out that Answers in Genesis actually said that Disney got it right for once, so we decided to watch it. It was incredible! From scene to scene the movie had us nearly crying for the little gazelle to laughing hysterically at a dancing rainforest bird. The fact is, it was the music that made the movie. I didn't even notice it that much until my sister started screaming as a little gazelle was being chased by a wolf. At that moment I really began to notice how much the music impacted the movie. There was another scene that had a tropical bird doing his little dance trying to get a girl. When the music started, I thought I was beholding a bird doing a cha-cha! I laughed and laughed. Needless to say, the girl was unimpressed but I sure was. :-) Of course the scenes that held laughter were not to be outdone by the scenes that depict the hard life of other animals. One of the scenes depicts the hard journey that African elephants must make in order to reach water. The background music had mostly strings with a main violin playing such a sad song that your heart ached for the little elephants that were lost in the sand storm or that could no longer stand from thirst. Okay, I know that I sound like an environmentalist, "Save the Earth" type of person right now, but really I'm not. I just have a tendency to be easily affected by music and this movie was filled with it. Of course, for every sad or horrific moment there was an equally funny one, like penguins tottering around with excitement, to chimpanzees trying to maneuver through water. Honestly, I've been walking around the house doing the "monkey move" all afternoon. Point being, what made these scenes what they were, was simply the music. I probably would have gotten board if I had tried watching it with the volume turned all the way down. Unfortunately, I could not find the soundtrack, which I would love to get a hold of.

Music has such a big effect that so often we bypass it unknowingly. Think about it. How many movies would you enjoy watching without music? For me, the answer would be none. Music makes things come to life. It adds emotions that we didn't know we had. Why else would my family and I be screaming and some of us crying because a wolf is chasing a gazelle on the other side of the world? I mean honestly, that gazelle has never done anything for us, we have no attachment to it and this kind of thing happens every day. Yet with the help of some music strategically written, we suddenly could care less what is happening around us. For the moment all we want is for that gazelle to "RUN FASTER!!!"

God has given man the amazing ability to write music. If we don't use this gift wisely we ruin something incredible. We can use music for His glory or we can use it for our glory. What I saw today was a prime example of what people can do if they decide to use music the right way.
"Earth" is a great movie. I would highly recommend it, especially to people who love good music. Just be careful, there might be some screaming and crying if you watch it with younger sisters.