1953 Oscar winner for Best Documentary prompts the question, "Why don't they even make documentaries like this anymore?"...yet, the advent of the success of "March of the Penguins" proves that perhaps they do. This live-action film from the Disney studios details the lives of the animals and insects that fill up America's Southwest desert region. Some of the footage is manipulated for a jokey effect, but why complain when it is such a beautifully assembled picture? Colorful and entertaining, it's the perfect primer for children. Disney continued in this True-Life vein with "The Vanishing Prairie" in 1954. Very lovely, with a terrific background score and narration. Classic Disney.
Review of The Living Desert
