Parents' Guide to

Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough

TV Netflix Educational 2024
Poster art for Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough shows a male lion on profile, mouth open in a roar.

Common Sense Media Review

Jenny Nixon By Jenny Nixon , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 6+

Stunning nature docu is a treat for the eyes and ears.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 6+?

Any Positive Content?

  • Host David Attenborough wears an olive green jacket, is pictured from chest-up in front of trees, gesturing and talking
  • Close-up shot of a fuzzy bee clinging to the yellow center of a white flower
  • Close-up shot looking directly into the face of an owl with mottled black-and-white feathers, piercing yellow eyes staring

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What's the Story?

David Attenborough, familiar and beloved television presenter and natural historian, once again opens the audience's eyes (and this time, ears!) in the 3-part nature documentary series Secret World of Sound. Using ultra-high-tech cameras equipped with dozens of sensitive microphones, viewers not only see the ways animals interact, hunt, and play -- but we can now hear it, too. Noises that were heretofore undiscernible to the human ear, such as the tiny rodent footsteps a hungry owl can pick up under several feet of snow, are now fully amplified.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

We've learned about concepts like echolocation before -- like when Finding Dory's beluga whale Bailey uses it to communicate -- but never has the role of sound in nature been so well-demonstrated. Secret World of Sound has all the eye-popping visuals and up-close camera work we know to expect of a David Attenborough production, but learning strange new audio-related facts about these animals (burrowing earthworms "hear" raindrops via nerve endings in their skin?!) and being able to hear what they hear, puts a whole new twist on the nature documentary. This is a fantastic choice for family viewing that entertains and educates, highlighting the interdependence of all species.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the role sounds play in their own lives. How do certain noises help or hinder us? Are there any noises you're particularly sensitive to?

  • Which animals in Secret World of Sound were your favorites to watch? Were you surprised by any of the sounds these animals made, and the role these sounds play in their survival?

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