Although first glance reveals little more than stones and sand, the desert is alive. Witness moving rocks, spitting mud pots, gorgeous flowers and the never-ending battle for survival between desert creatures of every shape, size and description.
Cinematography
Macro photography that made deserts look like alien worlds in '53.
Editing
Disney's classic 'storytelling' cut—nature as scripted drama.
Director
James Algar
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Won the 1953 Oscar for Best Documentary, beating out serious war docs because Academy voters loved watching a peccary outsmart a mountain lion.
Part of Disney's 'True-Life Adventures' series that invented the modern nature documentary format—and the controversial practice of staging animal 'dramas' in editing.
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