Oscar-winning Disney documentary about the American desert (Arizona specifically) and the creatures that inhabit it. This one is lots of fun. A great use of music and absolutely gorgeous nature footage shot in stunning Technicolor. Winston Hibler's narration is fine, if unexciting. Paul J. Smith's music is terrific. Some individuals suffering from anal obstructions might complain about some of the Disney-isms, such as silly sound effects and comedy scenes. If you're one of these, I suggest watching a dry National Geographic documentary that will put most people to sleep. That's probably more your speed. For everyone else, definitely seek out this colorful, fun, and educational documentary. It's especially good for kids who might not have seen such things before. But beware there's lot of close-up footage of snakes and other creepy crawlies in this. So if you or your kids have issues with that, you might want to prepare yourself before watching.

Between 1948 and 1960, Disney made fourteen nature documentary films, seven of them short subjects and seven of them full length and all narrated by Winston Hibler. Starting with 'Seal Island' and ending with 'Jungle Cat'. This series was called True Life Adventures, seen as a big fan of Disney and nature documentaries and after wanting to see some older nature documentaries. The True Life Adventures series is a more than worthwhile one and of consistently high quality (especially the short subjects) and do prefer all of them over most of the recent years DisneyNature films.

1953's 'The Living Desert' is the first feature/full length film in the series, following on from the short subjects. It is a very, very good start and one of the best feature length True Life Adventures films. It is not perfect and one scene that is often talked about doesn't work, but 'The Living Desert' has so much to recommend and is perfect for children and adults alike without going too far to appeal to one or the other. While not one of the best documentaries out there, it deserves its popularity and historical significance status.

Absolutely agree with the criticism regarding the scorpion mating dance scene, far too cutesy, was more forced than funny and it jarred tonally.

Not all the humour works, some of it being too jokey in an unsubtle way, which made it sound cheesy.

'The Living Desert' however looks wonderful, the colour photography is so vivid in colour and never static. Showing the majestic scenery, both beautiful and uncompromising, in all its glory. Apart from the strange and over the top corny use of hoedown music in the scorpion scene, the music has an infectiousness and a grandeur that is truly endearing. The animals, wonderfully varied, are a mix of adorable, sinister and fun to watch.

On the whole, the information presented is very entertaining and informative. The footage is beautifully shot and has a strong mix of emotions, boasting some memorable scenes. A big standout being with the wasp, a sequence that will leave one feeling uneasy (especially those with a phobia of them already). Hibler's narration has left one divided, personally liked his good natured and at times deadpan delivery.

In summary, very, very good. 8/10.

"The Living Desert" is an Oscar-winning Disney film about animals living in a huge desert portion of the United States...roughly inland in California into the Midwest. As I watched the nice animations and film footage in the film, I couldn't help but becoming annoyed by much of the narration. Some is helpful but too much of it inane and unscientific...meant more to entertain than educate. A few annoying comments would include referring to rival bugs as 'boyfriends', calling one creature a 'confirmed practical joker' as well as showing scorpions mating and playing square dance music as the narrator calls out the dance! It's really awful...and something even many of the newer Disney documentaries continue to do. I know there must be a proper balance between education and entertainment...but not this! And, the shame of it all is that the cinematography is great in this documentary...truly exceptional...especially for the 1950s.

Incidentally, if you are deathly afraid of snakes, then perhaps you might want to consider another film. Yes, it has quite a few snakes and the ophidiophobic individual is warned to stay clear.