Climate change is a considerable threat to our world. It concerns us all, even those in Hollywood. Which is why, over the last several years, we have seen several climate change movies and television shows that have highlighted the issue in many ways.
Almost all land areas are seeing more severe hot weather and heat waves. Water is becoming scarcer.
Deserts are expanding and reducing cultivable land. Droughts are causing dust and sand storms, transporting billions of tons of sand to far-off areas.
Because of temperature changes, we are also seeing more severe storms. The result is more frequent and severe storms, causing landslides and flooding.
Climate change is increasing health risks, reducing food cultivation and causing poverty and displacement. All world leaders and thinkers are worried. But are we doing enough to reverse or even arrest it?
Here are some of the top movies that have addressed the issue of climate change.
Top 17 Climate Change Movies To Watch
1. The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
The Roland Emmerich-directed The Day After Tomorrow tells the story of a global superstorm caused by the disruption of the North Atlantic Ocean circulation and its catastrophic effect.
Dennis Quaid makes a daring journey to NYC to find his son while battling extreme weather. The situation is so grave that the US President even has to order the evacuation of the southern states to Mexico.
The movie delivers an important message about how humans are causing irreparable damage to the planet.
2. The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
A remake of an earlier 1951 film, this movie, too, addresses the issue of humans causing environmental damage to the planet.
Alien Klaatu (Keanu Reeves) is sent to Earth to either eradicate humans or change their behavior with the greater goal of saving the planet.
Klaatu meets another alien (Mr. Wu) who has lived on Earth for many years. Wu tells Klaatu that humans are stubborn, destructive, and unwilling to change. The movie highlights how we are causing damage to the planet.
3. Avatar (2009)
An epic science fiction drama, this film narrates the story of a marine dispatched to the moon Pandora in the year 2154, following Earth’s ecological collapse and depletion of resources due to global warming, ozone layer deterioration, and overpopulation.
Pandora is a vibrant moon orbiting a massive star in the Alpha Centauri system, inhabited by the Na’vi, towering blue-skinned humanoids who coexist harmoniously with their environment.
Avatar illustrates the environmental devastation on Pandora caused by human invasion, resulting in a fierce conflict between the human colonizers and the indigenous Na’vi people.
These are all wonderful movies that deliver important messages. Those using Apple products can see them on iMovie.
You can also export to MP4. This detailed guide explains iMovie export to MP4 and shows you the step-by-step conversion process. Here are some other top movies about climate change.
4. Interstellar (2014)
Director Christopher Nolan excels in this 169-minute movie. Interstellar is one of his best films.
In 2067, humanity faces extinction due to a worldwide blight. Crops are failing, and there are frequent dust storms. NASA works secretly to send a group of astronauts through a wormhole to look for a new home for humanity.
Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is sent to investigate three possible candidates on board the Endurance, eventually falling into a black hole and traveling through time and space.
5. Before the Flood (2016)
This documentary, a collaboration between National Geographic and Earth Alliance co-founder Leonardo DiCaprio, takes viewers around the globe and shows how climate change affects people through rising sea levels, deforestation, and various human activities.
It urges leaders to take action to ensure a more sustainable future.
6. Utama (2022)
This drama film will take you to the arid highlands of Bolivia. It is the story of an elderly couple uprooted from their home because of climate change, drought, and the hardship they face in urban life.
It shows how climate change can erode communities and indigenous cultures. Utama was nominated for a grand jury award at the Sundance Festival.
7. Thank You for the Rain (2017)
Another documentary is about the Kenyan activist Kisilu Musya and how he rose from a drought-stricken farmer to become a community leader.
It provides an important grassroots perspective on climate change and its many impacts. Kisilu uses his camera to show the damage to his village and family.
8. FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992)
FernGully: The Last Rainforest is an animated musical set in a magical Australian rainforest.
Fairies and animals work together to protect their home from loggers. This rare climate film targets children and teaches them the value of environmental protection.
9. WALL-E (2008)
WALL-E is a 2008 animated science fiction film directed by Andrew Stanton for Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures.
Set in the 29th century, the film follows WALL-E, a trash-compacting robot, the last of his kind left on a waste-covered Earth abandoned by humans centuries ago.
The story depicts a future in which humans have fled the toxic, garbage-filled planet and live aboard the spaceship Axiom.
Over the centuries, humans have become sedentary and obese, relying on hoverchairs and robots for all their needs.
WALL-E spends his days compacting trash and collecting interesting trinkets until one day, he meets a sleek robot named EVE, who has been sent to Earth to search for signs of plant life.
Together, they embark on an adventure that will alter the fate of mankind.
10. Snowpiercer (2013)
Not just in Hollywood, directors from other countries too have delivered the message of environmental protection through their work.
This Korean post-apocalyptic science-fiction movie is set on a train that travels around the world with the surviving humans.
A botched climate engineering effort to combat global warming leads to a snowball Earth, destroying life. Only the elite could get into this train. Snowpiercer delivers an important sociopolitical and environmental message.
11. Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)
Also called Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, the icy home of Diego, Sid, and Manny is melting because of global warming and rising water levels.
The friends must get away safely and find a new home for them. They meet many others on the journey. It is one of the most beloved animated movies in the last couple of decades.
12. 2012 (2009)
The world is moving towards a massive catastrophe because of the heating of the Earth’s core and its resulting effects. 46 countries team up to build many safe arks in Tibet.
However, only the famous and richest people can get on board as the tickets cost a fortune. 2012 is clearly one of the best movies of John Cusack. It is also one of the most successful science fiction disaster films ever made.
13. All That Breathes (2022)
An Indian documentary by Shaunak Sen addresses the polluted and ailing side of urban ecosystems.
It is about two brothers, who are also conservationists, and the care they take of injured black kites as they fall from the sky in New Delhi.
Over the past twenty years, the brothers have cured 20,000 raptors in their bird clinic.
All That Breathes won the Grand Jury Prize for documentaries at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and has won many other national and international awards.
14. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
Malawi is suffering from droughts, and crops are failing, leading to a famine.
A young schoolboy from a family of farmers with a talent for fixing radios and salvaging electronic components from a local junkyard builds a windmill to power the town’s broken water pump.
The prototype works, and he begins to construct a larger windmill. His friends and many locals help William, which leads to successful crop cultivation.
15. Soylent Green (1973)
This was one of the earliest movies that highlighted the terrifying realities and consequences of climate change. New York City has become an uninhabitable place because of greenhouse effects.
The oceans are dying. Food is rare and resources are almost non-existent, all caused by pollution, global warming, and overpopulation. Human civilization is facing collapse.
This Charlton Heston movie is based on a 1966 novel by Harry Harrison.
16. An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
Former Vice President of the United States Al Gore brought the subject of climate change to the mainstream with this documentary, which also achieved commercial success.
Gore makes a comprehensive presentation with flow charts, slides, stark visuals, and detailed graphics.
He shows many pictures of Earth taken from space missions and explains how the world has suffered and the effects of global warming over time.
17. Burning (2021)
In this film, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Eva Orner from Australia highlights the catastrophic, deadly, and unprecedented effects of the 2019-20 Australian bushfires.
She narrates the story from the perspective of those involved and affected by the fires like residents, firefighters, politicians, young people, activists, scientists, and tech entrepreneurs.
It also highlights the government’s inaction and the damage caused as a result.
There are many other movies and even television shows where climate change has played a leading role.
Many of them are also critically acclaimed. Hollywood and global cinema has highlighted many important and relevant issues, but perhaps never as important as global warming, climate change, and their resulting effects on the planet and life.
In Summary
Exploring climate change through film offers a unique lens on the urgent issues facing our planet. These movies not only entertain but also educate, raising awareness about the environmental challenges we encounter today.
From dramatic narratives like The Day After Tomorrow to poignant documentaries such as Before the Flood, these films highlight the multifaceted impacts of climate change on humanity and nature alike.Each movie serves as a call to action, urging viewers to reflect on their role in combating climate issues.
Whether through science fiction or heartfelt documentaries, these films inspire hope and innovation, showcasing potential solutions and the resilience of the human spirit.
As we face an increasingly uncertain future, watching these films can ignite conversations and motivate individuals to take meaningful steps toward sustainability.
In conclusion, engaging with these cinematic narratives is essential for fostering a deeper understanding of climate change and its implications, ultimately empowering audiences to contribute to a more sustainable world.
