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Two new nature docs have very different takes on caring for the planet

Disney+'s Arctic Ascent and A Real Bug's Life offer contrasting views of the real world in a rock climber's passion for the environment and a guide to insects too faked-up for its own good

14 February 2024

National Geographic handout picture: Arctic Ascent with Alex Honnold. Alex Honnold in a moulin. (photo credit: National Geographic/Mikey Schaefer) — Rock climber Alex Honnold inside a moulin – or shaft – in Greenland
National Geographic/Mikey Schaefer

Arctic Ascent with Alex Honnold
National Geographic
Disney+

ALEX HONNOLD isn’t 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’s 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…

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