‘Tiny World’ Recap: ‘Savannah’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the series premiere of ‘Tiny World’.
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When we think of documentaries about nature, grand and sweeping stories come to mind. The kind that feature vast and beautiful settings. Wherein the majesty of mother nature is put on full display before we narrow our focus down to familiar animals, and the various habits and quirks that they exhibit as they work to survive and thrive the harshness of the world. And really, it is understandable as to why those thoughts and images come to mind, because that really is the standard formula for nature documentaries and truth be told, there is nothing wrong with that. For said formula has brought about some moving stories for certain, the kind that have outright taken our breath away throughout the years. 
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But while this formula does wonders for our eyes and our minds (since we do learn plenty about our world by way of these visual feasts), there is one inherent flaw when it comes to documentaries about the wild. In that, they tend to gloss over the tinier animals in the world in favor of the ones we know and love and that’s understandable as well. Because there is only so much airtime to go around and it is decidedly easier to track down an elephant over an ant, so it is sensible to make the common ones the overall focus of these shows. But it just so happens that AppleTV+ decided that the time has come to take a look at the tiny creatures that roam our world and give them the same attention as their giant counterparts by way of the brand-new series, Tiny World.

Which is a storytelling decision that quite frankly, leads to a lot of cute. Because the little buggers that are featured in ‘Savannah’ are downright precious since well, they’re tiny. But all cute aside, it doesn’t take long for one to realize that we are going to be in for quite the learning experience since we discover some incredible things about the tiny creatures that inhabit this vast and gorgeous landscape. Take the Elephant Shrew for instance, which is a fast and focused little rodent, that makes use of a network of pathways to feed on a consistent basis, and these paths are so important to this tiny bean that it will clean the network as needed and this little floof wasn’t the only one that made proper use of its environment. 

Because the dwarf mongoose is all about using available shelter, and they tend to flock to termite mounds in order to enjoy a little comfort and safety from the elements and predators for that matter as well. But what truly made the mongoose’s story so incredibly fascinating, is the sheer fact that it works in conjunction with birds in order to find food and that was something quite unexpected for certain. Because more often than not, it is every creature for itself in the wild. But clearly, the little ones understand they’re at a slight disadvantage and teaming up proves useful for everyone involved and it offers up more opportunities. And speaking of opportunities, we were also witness to a lot of tiny animals that a made a point to take advantage of every single one that came their way.
 
Which is why so many birds and lizards and everything in between made a point to just go for a meal when it presented themselves. Since they clearly seemed to understand that hesitation would let opportunity slip away and it was just delightful to see all these wonderful and tiny creatures succeed at surviving in a harsh environment, despite their size. If anything, this was simply a phenomenal opening chapter to this unique and dynamic documentary. For the camera teams that undoubtedly worked their fingers to the bone to bring us this footage, captured some stunning imagery, the kind that rivals stories about the big animals and in the end, all of these elements (and Paul Rudd’s phenomenal narration) definitely provide you with a fresh and exciting experience. One that leaves you eager to see what other fascinating facts and sights and sounds await us, as we continue our journey through this tiny world. Until next time.   

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