Disneynature

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Independent film studio

title: "Disneynature" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["2008-establishments-in-the-united-states", "companies-based-in-burbank,-california", "disney-production-studios", "film-production-companies-of-the-united-states", "mass-media-companies-established-in-2008", "walt-disney-studios-(division)", "the-walt-disney-company-subsidiaries"] description: "Independent film studio" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disneynature" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Independent film studio ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

FieldValue
nameDisneynature
logo[[File:Disneynature logo.svg
typeDivision
industryFilm
genreNature films
foundation
founderJean-François Camilleri
hq_locationBurbank, California, U.S.
area_servedWorldwide
key_peoplePaul Baribault (VP & GM)
productsMotion pictures
ownerWalt Disney Pictures
parentThe Walt Disney Studios
homepage
::

| name = Disneynature | logo = [[File:Disneynature logo.svg|frameless|class=skin-invert]] | type = Division | industry = Film | genre = Nature films | foundation = | founder = Jean-François Camilleri | hq_location = Burbank, California, U.S. | area_served = Worldwide | key_people = Paul Baribault (VP & GM) | products = Motion pictures | defunct = | operating_income = | owner = Walt Disney Pictures | parent = The Walt Disney Studios | homepage =

Disneynature is an American independent film studio that specializes in the production of nature documentary films for Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. Disneynature was founded on April 21, 2008, and is headquartered in Burbank, California.

The company's nature films are consistently budgeted between $5 million to $10 million, with their distribution and marketing handled by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The label's event films are released on Earth Day and have a conservation campaign based on the feature of the film with an appropriate conservation charity receiving donations based on tickets sold, at a pace of one per year. The eight Disneynature theatrical films have a gross of $328.3 million at the worldwide box office, from a combined total budget of $162 million, with Earth the top earner at $109 million.

Background

Disney had a background in making nature films prior to the creation of Disneynature; Bambi (1942) featured forest life and was a hit. From 1948 through 1960, the company produced the True-Life Adventures series, which won several Academy Awards and was involved in the release of Hugo van Lawick's Serengeti Symphony in the Netherlands in 1998. Outside of film work, Disney parks were involved. Disneyland in 1955 opened the Jungle Cruise ride. Walt Disney World includes Disney's Animal Kingdom, which is a theme park crossed with a zoo. Animal Kingdom has contributed to conservation causes by nursing endangered sea turtles back to health, returning white rhinos to Africa and conducting a census of cotton-top tamarins, a monkey species native to Colombia. In addition, since its creation in 1995, the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund has given over $11 million to 650 conservation projects in 110 countries.

After a long absence from nature documentaries, Disney decided to get back into the market after the French release of March of the Penguins. The film was given U.S. distribution through Warner Independent Pictures in 2005. Made on an $8 million budget, it grossed almost 10 times its budget at the U.S. box office and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2006. Jean-Francois Camilleri, head of Buena Vista International France at the time, had the company acquire the film for the French market. Buena Vista International France also managed to obtain a 20% ownership stake in the French version of the film, but Buena Vista Pictures Distribution's bid to distribute the film in the U.S. ultimately failed. Disney CEO Bob Iger, in consideration of Disney's past efforts, felt that Penguins "should have been a Disney film worldwide". This was the impetus behind the creation of Disneynature. The film's 2007 follow-up was Arctic Tale, which only took in $1.8 million worldwide. Paul Baribault, Vice President of Disney Studios Marketing, led the US efforts for Disneynature from 2008 forward, overseeing all marketing, production, brand development, and conservation programmatic efforts for the label. He was eventually named general manager of Disneynature.

History

Disneynature was announced on April 21, 2008, a day before Earth Day, with a starting slate of seven films. Camilleri was set to head the new division. A multi-film production agreement was made with Alastair Fothergill, BBC's Planet Earth series producer, for three scheduled films: Earth (2009), African Cats (2011) and Chimpanzee (2012). The other announced slate films and their release years were: The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos (2008), Oceans (2010), Orangutans: One Minute to Midnight (2010) and Wings of Life (2011). Original announced plans had the division releasing two films per year, which was curtailed by April 2009 due to a nature film's long period needed to film wildlife. No decision was made at that time as to whether or not the studio would donate the films' proceeds to conservation causes.

The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos was the first film produced for Disneynature. The first film released domestically under the new label was Earth, opening on April 22, 2009, in the US. In 2012, a Disneynature TV cable channel was launched in France. It is currently carried by France Telecom.

Animal Planet pick up for a two-year period three Disneynature films, Oceans, African Cats, and The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos, in April 2012 from Disney-ABC Domestic Television. In April 2014, Jane Goodall was named Disneynature ambassador.

Disneynature has recently expanded to China with the production of Born in China. The production was made possible due to an expansion of Disney's relationship with Shanghai Media Group starting in 2014. Following Born in China, Ghost of the Mountains and Expedition China were released to Netflix to reflect the incredible journeys involved in creating these films. In 2016, the company released its first compilation film, Growing Up Wild, direct-to-video (Blu-ray and DVD) and video on demand.

Paul Baribault, vice president of studio marketing and Disneynature, was appointed general manager of Disneynature officially in 2018, after having been operating in the capacity for several years. Camilleri resigned his posts with Disney in March 2019. Helene Etzi was appointed to take over his responsibility as head of Disney's French operations. The unit's first streaming films for Disney+ were Dolphin Reef and Elephant.

Filmography

::data[format=table] | Film | Release date | Behind-the-scenes documentary | Market | Narrator | Budget (millions) | Worldwide gross (millions) | Production company | The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos | Earth | OceanWorld | Oceans | Wings of Life | African Cats | Chimpanzee | Bears | Monkey Kingdom | Growing Up Wild | L'Empereur (March of the Penguins 2: The Next Step) | Born in China | Blue (France) | Dolphin Reef (US) | Penguins | Elephant | Polar Bear | Tiger | Sea Lions of the Galapagos | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | (France) (United States) | N/A | Worldwide | Mariella Frostrup | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | N/A | North America, South America and Italy | Patrick Stewart (UK) James Earl Jones (US) | $47 | $109 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Cannes Film Festival, Marché du Film | N/A | North America | Marion Cotillard | | | 3D Entertainment | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | N/A | North America | Jacques Perrin (FR) Pierce Brosnan (US) | $80.0 | $82.7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | N/A | Worldwide | Meryl Streep | | | Blacklight Films | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | N/A | Patrick Stewart (UK) Samuel L. Jackson (US) | $5 | $30.9 | last=Kilday |first=Gregg |date=May 19, 2009 |title=Disneynature starts up two new films |work=The Hollywood Reporter |agency=AP |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/disneynature-starts-two-films-84300/ |access-date=January 9, 2017}} | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | N/A | Tim Allen | $5 | $34.8 | Great Ape Productions | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | N/A | North America | John C. Reilly | $5 | $21.3 | Bearsar Productions | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | N/A | Tina Fey | $5–10 | $17.1 | Crazy Ape Productions | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | N/A | Daveed Diggs | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | N/A | France | Lambert Wilson (FR) Morgan Freeman (US) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ghost of the Mountains | Worldwide | John Krasinski | $5–10 | $25.1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Expedition China | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Diving with Dolphins | France | Cécile de France | | | Silverback Films | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | North America | Natalie Portman | | | last=Vary |first=Adam B. |date=March 26, 2020 |title=Meghan Markle Narrating Disney Plus Nature Documentary 'Elephants' |language=en |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/2020/film/news/meghan-markle-disney-plus-elephants-1203545835/ |access-date=March 26, 2020}} | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Penguins: Life on the Edge | Ed Helms | | $7.7 | last=Kylie Hemmert |date=February 26, 2019 |title=Penguins: Ed Helms to Narrate Disneynature's Feature Film |work=ComingSoon.net |url=https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/trailers/1044103-penguins-ed-helms-to-narrate-disneynatures-feature-film |access-date=February 26, 2019}} | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | In the Footsteps of Elephant | Worldwide (Disney+) | Meghan, Duchess of Sussex | | N/A | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Bear Witness | Catherine Keener | | N/A | Silverback Films | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Tigers on the Rise | Priyanka Chopra | | N/A | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Guardians of the Galápagos | Brendan Fraser | | N/A | Silverback Films | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::

Notes

References

References

  1. King, Geoff. (2013). "American Independent Cinema: Indie, Indiewood and Beyond". Routledge.
  2. Barnes, Brooks. (April 10, 2009). "In 'Earth,' Disneynature Balances Cuddliness and Reality". The New York Times.
  3. Eller, Claudia. (April 22, 2008). "Disney gets back to nature". Los Angeles Times.
  4. Deltenre, Jaap. (3 October 1998). "Serengeti Symphony: Ode aan het laatste paradijs". [[De Telegraaf]].
  5. Carvajal, Doreen. (September 28, 2005). "Compared With Their Filmmakers, the Penguins Have It Easy". The New York Times.
  6. Giardina, Carolyn. (April 29, 2008). "Studios envision beast case scenario". The Hollywood Reporter.
  7. . (April 21, 2008). ["Disney Gets Back To Nature..."](http://www.blueskydisney.com/2008/04/disney-gets-back-to-nature.html). *Walt Disney Studios*.
  8. Glaister, Dan. (April 23, 2008). "Disney launches unit to make cinematic nature documentaries". The Guardian.
  9. Davies, Caroline. (January 10, 2009). "Disney film spotlights threat to spectacular flamingo lake". The Guardian.
  10. "TV Channel: Disney Nature TV". European Audiovisual Observatory.
  11. Whittingham, Clive. (April 24, 2012). "Animal Planet picks Disney docs". C21 Media.
  12. Terrero, Nina. (April 10, 2014). "Jane Goodall Q&A: Scientist talks Disneynature Ambassador role, more". Entertainment Weekly.
  13. (April 10, 2015). "Disney Expands Relationship With China's Shanghai Media Group". Variety.
  14. James, Will. (December 25, 2016). "Disneynature's 'Growing Up Wild' on Digital HD". GeekDad.
  15. Hoffman, Jordan. (April 17, 2019). "All 13 Disneynature Movies, Ranked". Thrillist.
  16. Vlessing, Etan. (April 22, 2019). "Natalie Portman to Narrate Disney's 'Dolphin Reef' Movie".
  17. "Disneynature Movies at the Box Office – Box Office Mojo". IMDb.com, Inc..
  18. "The Crimson Wing – Mystery of the Flamingos". British Board of Film Classification.
  19. Hume, Tim. (April 30, 2012). "Real-life 'Lion Kings': African big cats caught on film - CNN.com". CNN.
  20. Kilday, Gregg. (May 19, 2009). "Disneynature starts up two new films". The Hollywood Reporter.
  21. O'Sullivan, Michael. (April 20, 2012). "Editorial Review: More than just a furry person". [[The Washington Post]].
  22. Chen, Sandie Angulo. (April 17, 2014). "'Bears' movie review: A real-life struggle to survive". [[The Washington Post]].
  23. (April 10, 2014). "Focus Sets Stephen Hawking Pic 'Theory Of Everything' For November; Disneynature Dates 'Monkey Kingdom' For 2015". Deadline Hollywood.
  24. (September 24, 2017). "L'Empereur de Luc Jacquet: la suite maudite de La Marche de l'Empereur". Avoir Alire – Critiques et news films, Livres, BD, musique, séries TV, Spectacles.
  25. (April 7, 2018). "'Blue' review". Hollywood Reporter.
  26. Vary, Adam B.. (March 26, 2020). "Meghan Markle Narrating Disney Plus Nature Documentary 'Elephants'". Variety.
  27. Kylie Hemmert. (February 26, 2019). "Penguins: Ed Helms to Narrate Disneynature's Feature Film". ComingSoon.net.
  28. Palmer, Roger. (January 14, 2022). "DisneyNature "Polar Bear" Coming To Disney+ On Earth Day".
  29. Disney Plus. (March 15, 2024). "Priyanka Chopra Jonas to Narrate Disneynature’s “Tiger”".
  30. Donnelly, Jim. (March 18, 2025). "Watch Disneynature's 'Sea Lions of the Galapagos' Streaming on Disney+ April 22".

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2008-establishments-in-the-united-statescompanies-based-in-burbank,-californiadisney-production-studiosfilm-production-companies-of-the-united-statesmass-media-companies-established-in-2008walt-disney-studios-(division)the-walt-disney-company-subsidiaries