As part of their Independence Celebration this summer, National Geographic and Disney+ invite viewers to experience the world around them like never before. In an exclusive six-part documentary series filmed across the patchwork lands of North America, Emmy-nominated Michael B. Jordan narrates America the Beautiful, the spectacular journey showcasing the continent's natural beauty. From the highest peak of Denali to the smallest mouse brigade protecting our shores from hurricanes, this series aims to touch open hearts and inspire the hope for a healthier future, and the drive to make that a reality. All six episodes will stream only on Disney+ beginning July 4, and today you can view a Collider-exclusive clip!
In the video, producers are working side-by-side with over 500 members of the Indigenous tribe of the Chippewa Cree of Rocky Boy Reservation in Montana, celebrating the reintroduction of the iconic bison to their preserved land. The Chippewa Cree are seen welcoming back a herd of bison raised by American Prairie in an attempt to encourage the repopulation of a species that once roamed the prairies in numbers that reached upwards of 60 million. By the 1880s the symbolic bison had been relentlessly and devastatingly hunted until the herds dwindled to less than 400, making this an incredibly special and important moment that the Chippewa Cree Tribe allowed the world to witness with them. In the clip, the music you hear is Ojibwe powwow singer Joe Rainey Sr. and Native drum maker and singer Dylan Jennings (Bizhikiins-Young Buffalo) in the title track "Quilt of Life."
From the multi-BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning team behind Planet Earth, Vanessa Berlowitz and Mark Linfield helmed the ambitious series, setting out to create a one-of-a-kind experience. America the Beautiful utilizes brand-new methods of documenting Earth's richest and most diverse landscapes unique to North America. Broken down by region, each episode highlights the intelligent and courageous creatures that inhabit them, from wild grizzlies hunting caribou in "Land of Heroes"; gator-infested swamps in the southeastern US in "Waterland"; the frigid Arctic Tundra in "Northland"; mountain lions prowling the Grand Canyon in "Wild West," to the four seasons a day in "Heartland." Finally, in the awe-inspiring culmination of America the Beautiful, "Brave New World," Berlowitz and Linfield honor the growing band of wildlife heroes championing the cultivation and preservation of North America's future. The series features an original soundtrack with all-new performances by Indigenous musicians, and, respectfully, National Geographic purchased carbon credits from projects working to reduce emissions and support biodiversity, in order to compensate for any emissions used while filming.
America the Beautiful is the first natural history series to fix fighter jets with cinema-grade cameras that allow the filmmakers to capture the world in ways never-before-seen. With impressive aerial views, we will be able to experience our planet from a soaring bird's perspective, taking in the way America's landscapes blend together seamlessly to create the world around us. With this revelatory camera system, we will see the way the Sierra mountains made the Mojave Desert, in one sweeping shot, and how the Colorado River carved the Grand Canyon. Not only do the fighter jets allow for breathtaking views, but they enabled the producers to film the planet's fiercest storms, with impossible footage of supercells and tornadoes at close range, capturing Earth at her mightiest. The result is footage so crisp and clear you expect to feel the wind against your face and smell the rain.
As with Planet Earth, America the Beautiful makes it possible for the world to see the funny and majestic creatures that inhabit Earth in ways most never will. From miraculous honeypot ants to the stern bald eagle, the series manages to capture elusive animal behaviors using a state-of-the-art new generation of remote and gyro-stabilized cameras. Through character-led storytelling America the Beautiful chronicles heroic, charming and bizarre animal stories across the land from sea to shining sea.
The soundtrack is an emotional backdrop that evokes feelings of pride and strength, as well as the rich diversity that is the heart of America. Joseph Trapanese composed the score. Bon Iver’s drummer S. Carey and Trapanese co-wrote and co-produced the theme song "Quilt of Life." Woven in the episodes are music and featured performances from Rainey Sr., Jennings, Italian Korean American violinist Lucia Micarelli, Los Angeles-based multiethnic vocal ensemble Tonality lead by Black American conductor Alexander Blake, Black American bluesman Leonard "Lowdown" Brown, and more.
Produced by the award-winning team behind Planet Earth, Wildstar Films, for National Geographic, America the Beautiful hopes to inspire reverence for the world around us with the goal to inspire the passion to conserve the precious habitats of North America. You can watch the clip below and be sure to stream the series exclusively on Disney+ on July 4: