LOS ANGELES, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Walt Disney Studios
Monday unveiled a new film label that will specifically produce nature
documentaries, with one of the first film projects titled "Earth" and set for
release on Earth Day 2009.
Disneynature will be based in France, and will work
with the world's top documentary filmmakers to explore wildlife and nature
around the planet, company officials said.
"Our goal is for Disneynature to offer event films
that will appeal to everyone who is captivated by the grandeur of nature and the
wonder of great filmmaking," said Dick Cook, Walt Disney Studios chairman.
Disneynature will be overseen by Jean-Francois
Camilleri, who was previously senior vice president and general manager for Walt
Disney Studios Motions Pictures France.
Among the first films that will be released by
Disneynature will be "Earth," by British producer-director Alastair Fothergill,
whose credits include the "Planet Earth" series for the BBC and The Discovery
Channel.
According to Disney, the film, narrated by American
actor James Earl Jones, will "take us on a tour of our home planet as we've
never seen it before." It is scheduled for release on Earth Day, which falls on
April 22, 2009.
Other film projects in the work under the
Disneynature label include "Oceans," "The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the
Flamingos," "Orangutans: One Minute to Midnight," "Big Cats" and
"Chimpanzee."