Today’s Google Doodle celebrates Earth Day, which began on April 22, 1970. It’s a brief animation sequence that begins with green leaves spelling out the Google letters and then sprouting into beautiful flowers.
The Earth Day Network cites Rachel Carson’s 1962 best-selling book Silent Spring as the precursor to the environmental movement, raising awareness of life on the planet and public health. Now, more than forty years later, the day is still celebrated in various ways, such as planting trees, being more proactive about recycling, or watching a movie.
Yes, watching a movie. Many great (and even not-so-great) films throughout the years have advocated being good stewards of our environment. Some are more blatantly preachy than others, but we at Big Shiny Robot! love movies, and here are a few of our favorite environmentally-friendly movies:
Wall-E: humans have destroyed the planet and have moved off-world to be lazy and fat until one day . . . a lonely robot discovers the last living plant and the future for civilization on Earth. This is one of the sweetest and cutest movies I’ve ever seen, and it really does carry a good message.
FernGully: The Last Rainforest: Fairy Crysta and vegetation-killer Zak must join forces to battle an evil that is threatening to destroy the rainforest. (Avatar is often compared to FernGully, as well as Pocahantas).
The Lorax: a more recent release, this movie is about a world with no trees, but Audrey desperately wishes to see one. Ted, wanting to impress her, ventures out on his own and ultimately meets the Lorax. Voiced by Danny DeVito, the Lorax does what he can to preserve nature. I haven’t seen this but the message of the film was clear even from the trailers.
Do you have any films you would suggest for watching on this Earth Day? And how much trouble will I get into if I suggest Return of the Jedi? After all, it’s about tree-dwelling creatures who overcame a tyrannical, mechanical Galactic Empire. Show the Ewoks some love on this day, too. Yub Nub.
