"Although the elephants and the humpback whales and polar bears are the animal stars, the other big star of the movie is the earth -- the planet itself, " said Fothergill.

CNN: 'Earth' takes viewers on 'breathtaking' global journey

Her features have included profiling the major athletic stars of the Olympics, traveling to the Arctic Circle to observe polar bears, and swimming with sharks in the Caribbean.

CNN: About

In a strangely brilliant post to her blog, Glass explains how the plight of Knut, an adorable baby polar bear that the world fawned over until he grew up, eerily parallels the plight of child stars.

FORBES: Why Knut The Bear Is Like Lindsay Lohan