Non-depressing David Attenborough?

[cheeseismydownfall]

I'd love to watch David Attenborough with the children, the kind I watched as a child where the most upsetting bits were lions eating gazelles.

I find the themes of climate change and ecological disaster running through all of the latest series just too depressing right now. Don't get me wrong, I understand how hugely important his message is, but right now I don't want to burden my children with yet more worries that they can't do anything about and are actually even worse than the pandemic.

I guess what I am after is a sort of edited highlights, something showing all of the wonder of the natural world but without the doom? Does anyone know of anything?

Mine like the National Geographic ones on Disney plus.

I absolutely can't bear watching anything of his now. It's such a shame as the camerawork and new knowledge etc is extraordinary. But if I want to watch a programme where there's a constant threat of danger, I'll watch Casualty.

It's the whole "the young lion / meerkat / polar bear / flamingo is safe..............for now"

We started watching the meerkat one. Then they abandoned their babies just as a hyena came on the scene - teenager was in hysterics and we had to turn off ! I agree I love them but don’t want misery and definitely not climate change warnings atm!!

tootyfruitypickle I watched the meerkat one too. Some terrible parenting went on in that programme

The most recent one had VAMPIRE FINCHES jesus christ that was grim.

I thought the first one of the series that started on Sunday evening wasn’t too bad (in terms of the tear jerking deaths) this time...

If you look on youtube/discovery channel you can probably find some of the old ones if you liked them? The actual quality and camera work might not be as good as the new ones but still amazing.

Perfect planet does have a better ring about it. Is that what it’s called ? Ironically I assume ...

I'm working my way through all DA's documentaries atm OP. Life On Earth isn't doom-ey. Pleasantly retro

It depends on the age of your children, surely? I think that older children should be aware of the issues he raises.

I’m too traumatised by the walruses falling off the cliffs to go near a DA documentary again any time soon!

We enjoyed the first episode of A Wild Year (BBC 2/iPlayer) the other day. It was mostly very gentle, just one short look-away bit involving hermit crabs but even then nothing died.

Definitely look at the older Attenborough documentaries. It's not just the focus on doom and gloom climate change issues, the modern ones are a lot more cinematic with background scores building up the tension as you wait with bated breath to see if the baby zebra will be caught by the lion. It terrified my kids in a way that the more matter of fact earlier ones didn't, even if the baby zebra still got eaten.

I can't stand the anthropomorphism and the preaching. However showing animals abandoning their young is useful. That's how nature works.