A Spellbinding, Intimate Look at Animal Family Life

Video

“Wolves at Our Door” (50 minutes; $20), “In the Company of Whales” (90 minutes; $20), “A Little Duck Tale” (50 minutes; $10). Discovery Channel Video/BMG Video. (800) 889-9950; (800) 727-0009; https://www.discovery.com.

Exploring three very different animal worlds, these fascinating family films have a common theme: a deeply felt connection with nature.

In “Wolves at Our Door,” filmmakers Jim and Jamie Dutcher offer a rare, intimate look at the social hierarchy, everyday playfulness and surprisingly warm relationships among wolves. Later, concerned that the pack’s trust in the couple might make them fall prey to hunters, the Dutchers see them to safety on historic Nez Perce tribal lands in the Northwest.

For researcher Roger Payne, to be “In the Company of Whales” is an opportunity for scientific study and a profound spiritual experience. Since he first heard the haunting songs of the humpbacks in 1967, Payne has explored the migration patterns, communication, social structure and mating habits of all species of whales. The around-the-world film footage is breathtaking. Payne compellingly observes that to respect animals deepens our humanity.

The Japanese-made “A Little Duck Tale” carries the same message, although its tone is clearly tailored to younger viewers. It’s a true story that begins when, for the second year in a row, a mother duck hatches her ducklings in a man-made, an artificial, decorative pond outside a corporate building.

The mother duck’s extraordinary journey with her growing offspring across a multilane boulevard to the large moat of the Imperial Palace is a media event as news crews turn out in droves.

The story doesn’t end with the ducks’ finally successful trek to the moat.

There are cranky swans, greedy mullets and life-threatening heavy rain. Survival is tenuous, especially for Chibi, a runty late-bloomer. His story is deliberately personalized, and despite the obviousness of the translated commentary, it works--his triumphs are heart-tugging, and so is the portrayal of uplifting human caring.