Despite the onslaught of rain dampening everyone’s moods, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County provided an incredible prehistoric Ice Age experience for every age demographic. Beginning the night with fossils from La Brea Tar Pits for a pre-screening pop-up — the richest Ice Age fossil site on Earth — and concluding with a panel including “Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age” executive producers Mike Gunton and Jon Favreau, this night at the museum proved to be a fantastic experience for all in attendance.
Before the early screening started, guests were invited to learn about varying fossils from La Brea Tar Pit experts. Some of the fossils featured included those of sabertooth tigers and giant ground sloths. Each member answered every question people had with kindness and ease– demonstrating their extensive fossil knowledge.
After a brief viewing of these fossils, guests were invited into the brand new Natural History Museum Commons Theater for an advanced viewing of the first episode of season three of the Apple TV+ show “Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age.”
Audience members grabbed popcorn and chocolate-chip cookies before making their way to their seats in the new theater, which is currently screening showings like “T. Rex” narrated by Sam Neill. Then, choosing out of the 400 seats, audience members sat down for the screening.
President and director of the Natural History Museum, Lori Bettison-Varga, briefly introduced the film and welcomed members, trustees and guests to enjoy the screening. The film then started, but not before Dr. Bettison-Varga emphasized how important the Ice Age is in informing what the world must do for its planet.
The first episode of “Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age” was aptly titled “The Big Freeze,” and launched everyone into a world of blizzards, bizarre animals and daring hunts for food. Each scene was set by music from Hans Zimmer, Kara Talve and Anže Rozman, excellently immersing the audience into the unfolding, ancient drama.
Additionally, narration was done by Tom Hiddleston, known for his roles in “Thor” and the Disney+ series “Loki.”. His narration was an excellent balance of wittiness and seriousness as he described the behaviors of each prehistoric mammal.
As “The Big Freeze” episode came to a wholesome ending, audiences were privileged to hear from a panel of experts. The panel included executive producers Mike Gunton and Jon Favreau, Emily Lindsey from La Brea Tar Pits, and animation supervisor Andrew R. Jones, a member of the Oscar-winning teams behind the visuals of “Avatar” and “The Jungle Book.”
The team went in-depth in describing the process and hopes for the Apple TV+ series. Gunton, who worked on “Yellowstone” and “Planet Earth II,” emphasized his goal of making audiences experience a “deep learning” through the series. He wants the audience to learn about the nuances of the Ice Age that aren’t as commonly discussed. Lindsey emphasized his point, saying that she loves seeing something she’s worked on forever come to life and be educational for a variety of audiences.
Favreau, who directed films like “The Lion King,” “The Jungle Book” and “Elf,” was happy to discuss his goals and vision for this recent venture. Importantly, he hopes that the throughline of the film is a human connection between the storytellers and audience. Additionally, he remarked that he believes the interplay between storytelling and technology is a powerful combination and will be interesting for viewers to watch unfold.
Animator Jones also discussed the technology of the film with Favreau. He remarked that there is so much care for the TV series from the top level down to the scientists working to fact-check.
Overall, the screening was a powerful blend of scientific discovery and engaging storytelling that allowed audience members of all ages to enjoy experiencing the wonders of prehistoric life up close. Additionally, the evening reminded everyone of the importance of studying the planet’s ancient past through the work at the La Brea Tar Pits.
Evenings like these inspire all generations to appreciate where our world started, and to protect our current world’s fragile environments. Despite the rain, it was remarkable to see everyone come together to enjoy a beautiful television series, streaming Nov. 26 on Apple TV+.