Watch a rattlesnake go up against a tarantula; See how a scorpion becomes a delicacy treat. Watch how snakes slither through kangaroo rat holes to find a baby breakfast and find that mommy has already removed the delicacy and planted them in a secret place. Sand in a sidewinder's eyes can get it to stop looking at you as your next meal. A bobcat is chased up a cactus by a family of bores. All this and more in "The Living Desert", one of Disney's classic "Live Action Adventures" that combines art, animation and live action footage where the camera work is the star, utilizing special effects in its fast forward motion and being in on the goings on where there's no way the sometimes monstrous looking creatures can be directed. Unlike "The Secret of Life", however, I did find this one a bit gimmicky, where even though it was made before, it was made in a way where little kids could not become horrified over seeing cute creatures gobbled up in a most horrific way.
Fans of the Warner Brothers cartoons will be thrilled to see a real road runner (no coyote in sight), going after the tails and leathery bodies of various mammals and reptiles. The presence of several lizards (including the infamous gila monster whom the narrator describes basically as a poisoned beaded purse) reminds me of the various monstrous looking creatures in "The Secrets of Life" that along with this influenced filmmakers to create Godzilla sized monster for all those infamous mid 1950's-1970's creature features. Natural wonders such as the description of how the desert stops Pacific Ocean rain in its tracks, how sudden floods change the landscape, and the nearly castle like mountainous rocky formations create various legends. This thrilled me as a kid in a double bill with a Disney feature, and it stands the test of time. Other than the narrator, there is no human being in sight, only pretty much every kind of critter you can imagine, all living out in the open, determined to survive another day. The poor bobcat, though, on the top of the giant cactus, had me in stitches. Poor kitty with thorns in their tootsies, but that's better than a bore tusk in its belly.
Fans of the Warner Brothers cartoons will be thrilled to see a real road runner (no coyote in sight), going after the tails and leathery bodies of various mammals and reptiles. The presence of several lizards (including the infamous gila monster whom the narrator describes basically as a poisoned beaded purse) reminds me of the various monstrous looking creatures in "The Secrets of Life" that along with this influenced filmmakers to create Godzilla sized monster for all those infamous mid 1950's-1970's creature features. Natural wonders such as the description of how the desert stops Pacific Ocean rain in its tracks, how sudden floods change the landscape, and the nearly castle like mountainous rocky formations create various legends. This thrilled me as a kid in a double bill with a Disney feature, and it stands the test of time. Other than the narrator, there is no human being in sight, only pretty much every kind of critter you can imagine, all living out in the open, determined to survive another day. The poor bobcat, though, on the top of the giant cactus, had me in stitches. Poor kitty with thorns in their tootsies, but that's better than a bore tusk in its belly.