Apple TV+ celebrates Earth Day – Apple TV+ celebrates Earth Day with slate of award-winning programming for the entire family, featuring inspiring stories about our extraordinary planet.
Original series and specials illuminate the spectacular wonders of Earth, and the importance of doing what we can to protect our only home
In honour of Earth Day, Apple TV+ celebrates its slate of award-winning original programming featuring captivating stories about our extraordinary planet. From the wonders of “Prehistoric Planet,” narrated by Sir David Attenborough; to the new uplifting series “Jane,” inspired by the work of legendary conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall; to the fight for our future in the face of climate change in the star-studded “Extrapolations,” and many more, Apple TV+ is your home for Earth Day.
New programming includes “Jane,” a mission-driven series inspired by the work of renowned ethologist Dr. Jane Goodall; an Earth Day special for the celebrated animated series “Sago Mini Friends”; new docuseries “Big Beasts,” narrated by Tom Hiddleston, featuring the most massive species on earth; and new kids and family series “Frog and Toad,” based on the beloved Caldecott and Newbery Award-winning books.
Viewers can also find previously released Earth Day-themed content including BAFTA Award nominated docuseries “Earth at Night in Colour,” narrated by Tom Hiddleston; Emmy Award nominee “The Elephant Queen,” narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor; epic documentary event “Prehistoric Planet,” from Jon Favreau; the star-studded “Extrapolations,” from executive producer Scott Z. Burns; Emmy Award nominee “The Year Earth Changed”;
Snoopy Presents “It’s the Small Things, Charlie Brown”; the Peanuts Classics “It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown”; the “Stillwater” Earth Day special; and Daytime Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning television event “Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth,” all streaming now on Apple TV+.
New and returning original series, specials and shorts to be featured in a special Earth Day collection on Apple TV+ include (in premiere order):
“Big Beasts” – premieres Friday, 21 April
From the acclaimed creative team of the Apple TV+ award-winning docuseries “Tiny World,” comes “Big Beasts.” Filmed over two years, the series takes audiences on an epic journey around the globe, from freezing poles to tropical rainforests, to meet nature’s most captivating giants.
“Big Beasts” is narrated by Tom Hiddleston and features some of the world’s most massive species filmed across 17 countries, including the grey whale, the elephant seal, the giant otter, the gorilla, the hippo, the brown bear, the ostrich, the orangutan, the tiger and the polar bear. Viewers will see that it’s not easy being big — the larger the animal, the greater the challenges they face — as the series captures rare and first-ever footage using specialised equipment and next-generation filming techniques.
“Frog and Toad” – premieres Friday, 28 April
“Frog and Toad,” the highly anticipated animated kids and family series based on the beloved Caldecott and Newbery Award-winning four-book series by Arnold Lobel. Frog is a frog. Toad is a toad. They have a lot in common… but they are also very different. Frog and Toad are best friends who know that the true secret to friendship is not only enjoying the things you have in common, but embracing the things that make you different. Since our differences are what makes us special, Frog and Toad celebrate what makes them unique!
The talented voice cast includes Academy Award winner Nat Faxon (“Our Flag Means Death,” “The Connors”) and Emmy Award nominee Kevin Michael Richardson (“The Simpsons,” “Family Guy”) as Frog and Toad, as well as appearances by Ron Funches (“Trolls”), Fortune Feimster (“Good Fortune,” “Kenan”), Cole Escola (“At Home with Amy Sedaris”), Aparna Nancherla (“The Great North”), John Hodgman (“Up Here”), Yvette Nicole Brown (“Disenchanted,” “Act Your Age”), Stephen Tobolowsky (“The Goldbergs”), Emmy Award nominee Tom Kenny (“SpongeBob SquarePants”), Selene Luna (“Coco”), Emmy Award nominee Margaret Cho (“Fire Island”) and Betsy Sodaro (“Duncanville”).
NOW STREAMING ON APPLE TV+
“Jane”
From Emmy Award winner J.J. Johnson (“Ghostwriter,” “Dino Dana”), Sinking Ship Entertainment and the Jane Goodall Institute, “Jane” is a new 10-episode mission-driven series for kids and families inspired by the work of Dr. Jane Goodall.
Ava Louise Murchison (“Reacher”) stars as Jane Garcia, a nine-year-old budding environmentalist on a quest to save endangered animals. Using her powerful imagination, Jane takes her best friends David, played by Mason Blomberg (“Shameless”), and Greybeard the chimpanzee on epic adventures to help protect wild animals all around the world because, according to her idol Dr. Jane Goodall: “Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help. Only if we help, can they be saved.”
“Sago Mini Friends” Earth Day special
Just in time for Earth Day, watch “Sago Mini Friends” special “Treasure It,” where an old lunch box finds new life when Harvey transforms it into a treasure box full of unique items for his friends. “Sago Mini Friends” is an adorable nod to gratitude, featuring Harvey the floppy-eared dog and his best friends, Jinja the cat, Jack the rabbit and Robin the bird. Along with a unique cast of residents as colourful as their own whimsical world, the four friends play, explore, imagine and celebrate daily in their joyful town of Sagoville. Harvey and all his friends express their true thankfulness for all things big and small, through optimism, kindness, preschool-friendly humour and unforgettable original songs!
“Sago Mini Friends” is also offering a special Earth Day Activity pack HERE, with fun, printable materials that will turn your next nature walk into a scavenger hunt!
“Earth At Night in Colour”
A landmark natural history series narrated by Tom Hiddleston, “Earth At Night In Colour” uses next-generation cameras to reveal the nocturnal lives of animals, in colour, for the first time ever. Filmed across six continents, from the Arctic Circle to the African grasslands, this pioneering series follows the moonlit dramas of animals at night, revealing new insights and never-before-seen behaviours. “Earth At Night In Colour” is produced by Offspring Films. The series is executive produced by Alex Williamson and Isla Robertson, and produced by Sam Hodgson.
“The Elephant Queen”
Embark on an epic journey of family, courage and coming home. “The Elephant Queen” is a genre-crossing wildlife documentary, uniquely crafted as a character-driven narrative. Its enduring themes are built upon a foundation of authenticity and integrity, brought from filmmakers Mark Deeble (“Voyage of Time”) and Victoria Stone’s (“The Queen of Trees”) 60 years of collective experience in the rich tradition of wildlife documentary filmmaking and production. Deeble and Stone, who are Emmy and Peabody Award winners, spent 25 years living in the East African bush, preparing them for the unforgettable odyssey of “The Elephant Queen.”
The Elephant Queen is Athena, a majestic elephant matriarch, who leads her family across an unforgiving, yet cinematic natural landscape made up of grasslands and woodlands, dotted with seasonal waterholes. The elephants share their home with a cast of supporting character species who provide texture and richness to the elephants’ ecosystem – from a toenail height perspective. Athena, as leader of her herd, anticipates the coming dry season and knows there are lean times ahead. As the waterholes dry up, she has no choice but to take her family on a treacherous journey across even more foreboding landscapes, as the majestic creatures seek refuge until the rains fall again.
“Extrapolations”
“Extrapolations,” from executive producer Scott Z. Burns, is a bracing limited series that introduces a near future where the chaotic effects of climate change have become embedded into our everyday lives. Eight interwoven stories about love, work, faith and family from across the globe will explore the intimate, life-altering choices that must be made when the planet is changing faster than the population. Every story is different, but the fight for our future is universal. Are we brave enough to become the solution to our own undoing before it’s too late?
The series features an all-star cast including Yara Shahidi, Kit Harington, Daveed Diggs, Matthew Rhys, Heather Graham, Sienna Miller, Tahar Rahim, Meryl Streep, David Schwimmer, Neska Rose, Judd Hirsch, Cherry Jones, Edward Norton, Michael Gandolfini, Indira Varma, Diane Lane, Adarsh Gourav, Gaz Choudhry, Keri Russell, Gemma Chan, Marion Cotillard, Forest Whitaker, Hari Nef, Eiza González, Tobey Maguire, Ben Harper, Murray Bartlett and MaameYaa Boafo.
“Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth”
“Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth” is a television event based on the New York Times Bestselling Book and TIME Best Book of the Year by Oliver Jeffers. The animated short film features a star-studded voice cast including Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning Meryl Streep, Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning Chris O’Dowd, SAG Award nominee and Critics’ Choice Award-winning Jacob Tremblay and Oscar nominee Ruth Negga.
The captivating, animated family film follows a precocious 7-year-old (voiced by Tremblay) who, over the course of Earth Day, learns about the wonders of the planet from his parents (voiced by O’Dowd and Negga) — and from a mysterious exhibit at the aptly titled Museum of Everything. Meryl Streep narrates.
Peanuts Classics “It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown”
Celebrate the environment with the Peanuts Classics special from Mendelson/Melendez Productions, “It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown.’’ To celebrate Arbor Day, Charlie Brown’s baseball team turns the field into a lush garden, throwing Peppermint Patty off her game.
“Prehistoric Planet”
From executive producers Jon Favreau and Tim Gunton, BBC Studios Natural History Unit (“Planet Earth”), and narrated by Sir David Attenborough, “Prehistoric Planet” transports viewers 66 million years in the past to discover our world — and the dinosaurs that roamed it — all in stunning detail and set to an original score by multiple Academy Award winner Hans Zimmer. The groundbreaking series combines award-winning wildlife filmmaking, the latest palaeontological learning and state-of-the-art technology to unveil the spectacular habitats and inhabitants of prehistoric Earth for a one-of-a-kind immersive experience.
Snoopy Presents “It’s the Small Things, Charlie Brown”
“It’s the Small Things, Charlie Brown” follows Sally’s bond with a special little flower on the baseball field that may spell disaster for the big game. For Charlie Brown and the team, it’s just the inspiration they need to make a positive impact on their environment.
“Stillwater” Earth Day special
In “One Drop Makes an Ocean,” Stillwater shows the kids his worm farm and other things he does to live green, which inspires them to come up with more ways to help Earth.
Peabody and Daytime Emmy Award-winning series, “Stillwater,” centres on siblings Karl, Addy and Michael, who encounter everyday challenges — big and small — which sometimes feel insurmountable. Fortunately for these three, they have Stillwater, a wise panda, as their next-door neighbour. Through his example, stories and gentle humour, Stillwater gives the children a deeper understanding of their feelings as well as tools that help them face their own day-to-day challenges.
“Stillwater” – New Shorts
Prior to the 19 May launch of the third season of “Stillwater,” based on the award-winning and bestselling Scholastic book Zen Shorts by Jon J Muth, Apple TV+ premiered three all-new shorts on platform and made available for non-subscribers on Scholastic’s YouTube. Follow Jasper the cat in “Jasper’s Journey” on a mindful journey through Stillwater’s garden, join Stillwater in “Making Waves” as he makes new patterns in his Zen garden, and watch Karl join Stillwater in “Breathing” to learn how breathing can help make him feel better when he has angry feelings.
“Tiny World”
Narrated by Paul Rudd, “Tiny World” takes a unique perspective on the natural world, exploring the ingenuity and resilience of the smallest animals on the planet. Brand new camera technology allows us, for the very first time, to see the world through the eyes of the tiniest creatures and witness the extraordinary things they do to survive.
“The Year Earth Changed”
Showcasing footage from around the world after an unprecedented year, “The Year Earth Changed” is a timely documentary special that takes a fresh new approach to the global lockdown and the uplifting stories that have come out of it. From hearing birdsong in deserted cities and seeing whales in Glacier Bay, to meeting capybara in suburbs across South America, people worldwide have had the chance to engage with nature like never before.
In this documentary special, viewers will witness how the smallest changes in human behaviour – reducing cruise ship traffic, closing beaches a few days a year, identifying more harmonious ways for humans and wildlife to coexist – can have a profound impact on nature. The documentary, narrated by David Attenborough, is a love letter to planet Earth, highlighting the ways nature’s resiliency and ability to bounce back can give us hope for the future.
Media Release – Apple TV+
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