National Geographic
Disney+
ALEX HONNOLD isn鈥檛 the most likely celebrity. The world-class rock climber first entered the mainstream via the Oscar-winning 2018 documentary Free Solo, which chronicled his successful effort at a free solo climb (alone, without any support equipment) of the El Capitan summit in California鈥檚 Yosemite National Park.
Since then, he has become an unofficial pop-culture ambassador of rock climbing, appearing in other documentaries and working with National Geographic on nature specials. Honnold seems to have embraced his position, retaining his unique blend of humility and hubris. He is quick to point out his insignificance compared with the plight of Earth, and he has used his growing fame and fortune to focus attention and resources on climate change.
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Honnold retains a fearlessness as a climber that borders on arrogance, and both are on display in an engrossing three-parter. In Arctic Ascent with Alex Honnold (as in his previous Nat Geo special, ), the climber combines his challenge with a scientific endeavour. In this case, it is the study of melting Greenland ice caps that could lead to the rise of sea levels. He may be the celebrity, but Arctic Ascent affords ample time to other members of his team, such as glaciologist He茂di Sevestre. Along with two other climbers, a safety officer and a local guide from Greenland, Honnold and Sevestre set out across the Renland ice cap to gather data from areas with no documented human exploration.
As important as Sevestre鈥檚 scientific efforts are, Honnold and the producers understand that the real appeal for most viewers is seeing the climber accomplish a seemingly impossible feat, and he does just that by being the first to ascend the 1219-metre rock formation known as Ingmikortilaq.
Arctic Ascent is structured like a conventional adventure reality show and it doesn鈥檛 achieve the same level of suspense or personal stakes as Free Solo. Even so, there are plenty of awe-inspiring moments as the cameras pull back to show Honnold and his fellow climbers barely clinging to massive, sheer rock walls.
The series may be carefully packaged, but such moments still convey the genuine danger and unpredictability of the situation. It is almost the exact opposite of the other Nat Geo series premiering on Disney+ recently, the cutesy and heavily stylised A Real Bug鈥檚 Life.
Piggybacking on the enduring popularity of the 1998 Pixar movie A Bug鈥檚 Life, the series is meant to be a family-friendly introduction to the insect world. But it is such a constructed product that it might as well be animation, and even young viewers are likely to spot that it doesn鈥檛 seem real. A disclaimer that flies by at the end of each episode notes that 鈥渟ome sequences have been graphically enhanced or were filmed under controlled conditions鈥�, but that is insufficient to describe the sound stage that substitutes for New York City in the first episode or the digital composite of a suburban backyard in a later instalment.
When the show travels to the actual Costa Rican jungle, it feels more authentic, although the corny narration from rapper and actor Awkwafina and the contrived narratives for the bug protagonists still highlight the manipulation.
Of course, it is good to leverage Pixar鈥檚 appeal to help preserve the natural world, but A Real Bug鈥檚 Life never seems anything but contrived. When Honnold raises awareness about the environment by climbing all over it, his concern and passion shine through with urgent honesty.
Josh Bell is a writer and critic based聽in聽Las Vegas, Nevada
