Nature's Half Acre

1951 0h 33m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

★7.4TMDB · 17

Documentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The strange and wonderful world that lies beneath our feet, under leaf, log and rock, peopled by millions of weird and fascinating creatures. Released theatrically alongside Alice In Wonderland.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Winston Hibler
Narrator

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: James Algar
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 6

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 33-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 6

ERA

Did you know

75 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 6

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "True-Life Adventures Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 6

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 6

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0043839 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 6

WILD

Did you know

Only 17 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

Cinephile deep dive

The take

James Algar directs. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 33-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
275 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Part of the "True-Life Adventures Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5IMDB entry: tt0043839 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
6Only 17 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Runtime: 33 min · 0h 33m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Nature's Half Acre (1951)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Two-reel

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

True-Life Adventures Collection

In 1940 Walt Disney got the idea for the first ever nature documentary True Life Adventures during animal studies for his upcoming film Bambi. Instead of imitating the natural through animation, he could just use what was already there. When the sun rises and light enters through the eyelids the body is triggered to begin its wake-up cycle, including the release of cortisol. By the time the light is at full brightness, sleepers wake up on their own. An alarm is not needed anymore.

Also by

James Algar

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-11-20
★ 6/10
This might have been better for me had they scaled back on the jolly score and left us with some actual sounds of the nature we are watching. Instead, we get a surfeit of different musical styles and tempos accompanying Winston Hibbler's commentary of life in an half acre of ground upon which mankind has yet to make his presence felt. There is some innovative time-lapse photography and clearly time was spent collating and editing this fascinating look at just how diverse the range of critters are, trying to make a life (and avoid being eaten) in this wilderness. Some are astonishingly adaptable, hungry, beautiful, hungry, violent, hungry and even amorous and again the imagery captures quite a bit of that as well as the comical and the eat or be eaten mentality that not only nourishes those further up the food chain, but protects the plant life from their insatiable appetites. (Did I mention these things are hungry?). It's fun watching newly hatched chicks trying to digest worms that are quite possibly heavier than them and though maybe this could have been shortened a little, it's an entertainingly scripted foray into the world of natural history that mixes some elementary science into a film that still bears watching.

Production companies