Microcosmos (1996)

Overview · Where to watch · Cast & crew · Reviews

15 years of research. 2 years of equipment design. 3 years of shooting. One great movie to restore your sense of wonder.

A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography. It includes bees collecting nectar, ladybugs eating mites, snails mating, spiders wrapping their catch, a scarab beetle relentlessly pushing its ball of dung uphill, endless lines of caterpillars, an underwater spider creating an air bubble to live in, and a mosquito hatching.

• Released: 1996-09-06
• Genres: Documentary
• Runtime: 1h 20m
• Status: Released
• TMDB rating: 7.6/10 from 268 votes

Directed by Claude Nuridsany, Marie Pérennou.

Top cast

• Jacques Perrin as Récitant / Narrator (voice)

Full cast & crew

Where to watch Microcosmos

• United States: stream on Criterion Channel
• Canada: stream on Criterion Channel

Movies like Microcosmos

If you enjoyed Microcosmos, these movies have a similar feel:

• Powaqqatsi (1988)
• Naqoyqatsi (2002)
• A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough (2026)
• The Year Earth Changed (2021)
• Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey (2011)
• Fantastic Fungi (2019)
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• Babies (2010)
• Who Are You, Charlie Brown? (2021)
• Tomorrow (2015)
• Deep Blue (2003)
• Whispers in the Woods (2025)

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