If you enjoy the wildlife, untouched nature, and stunning landscapes, you’ve come to the right place, as we present you best nature documentaries on Netflix streaming in 2015.
Talking about nature documentaries would be pretty pointless without mentioning some of the greatest contributors (some would say founders) of the genre. Naturally, we are talking about BBC and their narrators, notably Sir David Attenborough. BBC, especially their Natural History Unit, is responsible for full 7 out of 11 nature documentaries on our list. While you are streaming them on Netflix, remember, to say thanks to people working in BBC Natural History Unit that made it possible for you to enjoy their wonderful programs.
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If nature is too mundane for you, you can check out some of the best serial killers documentaries on Netflix.
To rank best nature documentaries on Netflix streaming in 2015, we had to devise a system. Going simply by IMDb rating just wouldn’t cut it, although we did include it in our final ranking. We also went over a dozen lists on most popular sites in order to get an accurate feel for vox populi. We mixed it all together and came up with a genuine Insider Monkey ranking. Let’s see who made it to our list of 11 best nature documentaries on Netflix streaming in 2015.
11. Mysteries of the Unseen World
Site Score: 1, IMDb Score 1; Overall Score: 2 points
Directed by Louie Schwartzberg
Year: 2013
We are surrounded by things and events that are too small, too slow, or too fast for our senses to register them. Still, they play an important part in both our lives and in the life of the planet. The microscopic world is finally revealed to us in National Geographic’s Mysteries of the Unseen World. After watching this movie, you will never see things the same, although some would argue that it isn’t necessarily a good thing. Some things (a close up of a flea comes to mind) can’t be unseen. The use of high-definition and high-speed cameras provides for some stunning visual treats.
10. Hidden Kingdoms
Site Score: 3, IMDb Score 4; Overall Score: 7 points
Directed by Louie Schwartzberg
Year: 2014
The three-part series was titled Mini Monsters in the USA, shown by Discovery channel. Considering that the show deals with small forest and jungle animals like chipmunks, dung beetles, and rufous elephant shrews, you have to wonder what is going on with the Discovery’s editors. Be that as it may, Hidden Kingdoms portraits the lives of some of the smallest animals around us and how they deal with the challenges in their everyday activities. Apparently, being surrounded by giants who have you on their menu makes a very challenging existence and often not a very long one. But over time, these animals have developed few tricks that can keep them alive even in such hostile surroundings. As the bonus, the series is narrated by Stephen Fry.
9. Mission Blue
Site Score: 5, IMDb Score 3; Overall Score: 8 points
Directed by Robert Nixon and Fisher Stevens
Year: 2014
Sylvia Earle is a legendary marine biologist and one of the pioneers of the fight for ocean preservation. She is National Geographic explorer-in-residence, an honor not given lightly. Her non-profit foundation Mission Blue is founded for the sole purpose of protecting world’s ocean, a vital resource for our survival on the planet. The movie shows us her lifelong struggle for the establishments of marine protection zones (Hope Spots) spread across the globe, with the aim of protecting and restoring marine wildlife. There are over 50 of them now, but she hopes that the number will increase in the future. Considering the state of the oceans today and the fact that we can’t live on Earth without them, let’s hope she’s right.
8. The National Parks: America’s Best Idea
Site Score: 4, IMDb Score 5; Overall Score: 9 points
Directed by Ken Burns
Year: 2009 –
Created by Ken Burns for the PBS, National Parks: America’s Best Idea explain how the national parks came to be and what the philosophy behind them is. The 6-part series deals with the history of the national parks in the USA, starting with Yosemite and Yellowstone parks in the second half of the 19th century. Other episodes show the different periods, as other areas were declared national parks and the creation of National Monuments category. The series won two Emmys in 2010, for outstanding writing and for outstanding non-fiction series.
7. How to Grow a Planet
Site Score: 2, IMDb Score 7; Overall Score: 9 points
Directed by Nick Shoolingin-Jordan and Nigel Walk
Year: 2012
How to Grow a Planet is a three-part series produced by the BBC. Narrated by professor Iain Stewart, each episode deals with the different aspect of our planet’s history that has contributed to its current form, as well as the form of its inhabitants. Professor Stewart explains in great detail how various changes have helped shape our planet and why are the plants mostly responsible for them. In the first episode, Life from Light, he explains how plants managed to use Sun’s energy and create an atmosphere. In the second, The Power of Flowers, Professor Stewart shows us how flowers started the evolution of animals, ultimately leading to humans. In third and final, The Challenger, he explains how a simple grass was responsible for forcing our ancestors to give up trees and begin the evolution on the endless plains of Africa.
6. Chasing Ice
Site Score: 7, IMDb Score 2; Overall Score: 9 points
Directed by Jeff Orlowski
Year: 2012
Originally a climate change skeptic, National Geography photographer James Balog decided to travel north and see for himself is there any truth in global warming theories. Arriving in Greenland and witnessing the rate of glaciers melting quickly convinced him that climate change is real and it is happening. With his team, he set up his equipment in order to capture the receding ice in what they called Extreme Ice Survey. Among other things, they managed to film a 75-minute long calving of Jakobshavn Glacier, the longest such event ever to be captured on film. It would be very hard to remain climate change skeptic after seeing that on film, let alone in person.
5. Wild China
Site Score: 8, IMDb Score 6; Overall Score: 14 points
Directed by N/A
Year: 2008
And now we enter firmly into the BBC land since the last 5 of our best nature documentaries on Netflix streaming in 2015 are all British made. Wild China was made in a coproduction with China Central Television (CCTV) and is narrated by King Théoden himself, Bernard Hill. The six-part documentary takes us to various parts of China, from the snow-covered Himalayas to the Gobi desert and the South China Sea, introducing us to the incredibly diverse wildlife that lives in one of the largest countries on the planet.
4. Human Planet
Site Score: 6, IMDb Score 10; Overall Score: 16 points
Directed by N/A
Year: 2011
Each of the 8 episodes of Human Planet illustrates how humans have adapted to different parts of our planet, with wildly varying climate and wildlife. Each of the habitats depicted in the series (oceans, deserts, Arctic, jungles, mountains, grasslands, rivers and finally cities) required a different skillset in order to be inhabited by humans. Some of the activities presented in the show include whale hunting in Indonesia, dolphin assisted fishing in Brazil, moisture farming in the Atacama Desert, hunting narwhals in Greenland, hunting tarantulas in Venezuela, transporting timber using Asian elephants in India, hunting with golden eagles in Mongolia, stealing food from a lion pride in Kenya, fishing on the edge of Victoria Falls and many more. The final episode deals with humans living in cities and their more unusual activities, like beekeeping in New York City. Human Planet won 2 BAFTA awards in 2011.
3. The Blue Planet
Site Score: 10, IMDb Score 8; Overall Score: 18 points
Directed by N/A
Year: 2001
Five years in the making and filming on almost 200 locations worldwide, The Blue Planets depicts various aspects of marine life. If world oceans are something you are even remotely interested in, this show is a must see. Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, it consists of eight episodes, 50 minutes each. The series feature heavy use of submersibles to film some amazing scenery deep under the surface, like descending 1,000 meters following a sperm whale as he feeds. The Blue Planet won several awards, Emmys, and BAFTAs among them, for music and cinematography.
2. Frozen Planet
Site Score: 9, IMDb Score 9; Overall Score: 18 points
Directed by Ray Dal
Year: 2011
The final show in BBC Planet series, produced by Alastair Fothergill and Vanessa Berlowitz (both also worked on The Blue Planet and Planet Earth), Frozen Planet depicts northernmost and southernmost parts of our planet, Arctic, and Antarctic. The series shows the animal and plant wildlife that inhabits these inhospitable regions and explains how survival is possible even there. It won four Emmy Awards in 2012.
1. Planet Earth
Site Score: 11, IMDb Score 11; Overall Score: 22 points
Directed by N/A
Year: 2006
The crown jewels of BBC Natural History Unit are the eleven episodes of Planet Earth. The most expensive nature documentary in the history of BBC, the series rightfully claims the top spot on our list of 11 best nature documentaries on Netflix streaming in 2015. It was also the first nature documentary to be filmed in high definition. Narrated by Sir David Attenborough (who else?), Planet Earth depicts various habitats on our planet.
