Climate change can be overwhelming and scary. Talking about a problem as vast and pressing as this can be anxiety-inducing. However, making the problem one faces in an imaginary world makes it easier to think about without feeling like a stakeholder. Books, movies and TV series in the climate fiction or ‘cli-fi’ genre show fictional characters facing real problems. It helps raise awareness while allowing you to enjoy a good story. Here is a list of our favorite climate fiction movies to get you started.
1. Wall-E (2008)
(Image credits: Variety)
Wall-E is a much-loved Pixar animated movie set in the 29th century after humanity evacuated Earth due to environmental destruction caused by human exploitation. They have settled in space, overtaken by obesity. The eponymous Wall-E is a lovable robot left behind from a failed clean-up operation of the Earth. When another probe is sent to the planet to check for habitable conditions, it discovers a seedling. What follows is a heart-touching movie of the two robots connecting and bringing humanity back to its home. This movie is perfect to watch with children.
2. 2012 (2009)
(Image credits: Pinterest)
This is a science-fiction disaster movie where worldwide catastrophes have been predicted for 2012. A scientist discovers a new type of neutrino from a solar flare heating the Earth’s core. More than 50 nations are building safe arks to Tibet and the story follows a common man who must guide his family to safety before it’s too late. Along with climate change, this movie depicts the ugly side of government control and capitalism.
3. 2067 (2021)
(Image credits: MovieFreak)
The movie 2067 is set in a dystopian future where climate change and nuclear warfare have destroyed the planet. Humanity has almost been wiped out, with only one surviving city remaining, and natural oxygen is depleted. People have survived due to synthetic oxygen, but it is tainted and causes ‘the sickness,’ which in the future will be the cause of the extinction of mankind. Amidst all this, the protagonist, Ethan Whyte, is sent to the future after a message asking for him arrives via a time machine. While in the future, he learns the truth of the circumstances and races against time to save humanity against all odds.
4. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009)
(Image credits: Plugged In)
At first glance, this animated comedy movie is just a goofy children’s watch. When his small town faces hard times, a scientist builds a machine that turns water into food. He sends this creation into the sky, and it’s raining cheeseburgers for a while. However, due to increasing demand, the machine malfunctions and natural disasters made of food items hit. On closer inspection, one notices that the happenings in the movie are a metaphor for the weather anomalies caused by climate change, human greed and exploitation of resources. This gives a whole new dimension to the kid’s movie and makes it a good watch for all.
Official trailer: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
5. The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
(Image credits: NBC News)
This movie follows a climatologist who discovers a looming threat of catastrophes. He puts his evidence before UN officials and world leaders who ignore his warnings. Their denial leads to the onset of an ice age all over the Northern Hemisphere, which is accompanied by severe storms. People trapped in public buildings and those trying to escape the country to get away are facing significant physical and mental trauma. The movie is strikingly similar to the reality of a few people not taking climate change seriously and exhibits how dangerous that can be.
Official trailer: Day After Tomorrow
6. Snowpiercer (2014)
(Image credits: Syfy)
This post-apocalyptic movie is set a few years after a botched attempt by humanity to combat climate change, which resulted in an ice age. This wiped out most living beings and the few people who survived live in a train with a closed ecosystem that circumnavigates the globe, as conditions outside are too harsh for life, with not even plants surviving. However, the train still suffers from classism even in these adverse conditions. Few people, believing life exists outside the train, want to leave. However, before they can do that, mayhem ensues. Along with climate change, this movie also demonstrates the dangers of classism and discrimination.
7. Princess Mononoke (1997)
(Image credits: Pinterest)
This Japanese animated movie was released almost 27 years ago, yet we still have much to learn. The film follows a prince trying to find the cure for a demonic curse. In his journey, he finds himself in the middle of a war between forest gods and a mining community. This political anime rings very true today as it shows mankind’s inability to live in harmony and the destruction we cause to the ecosystem.
Official trailer: Princess Mononoke
8. Interstellar (2014)
(Image credits: Ron Burnett)
Interstellar is set in a future where global famine has destroyed the planet. Humans are close to extinction; hence, NASA secretly begins a mission to find a habitable planet outside the solar system.
This movie is a must-watch due to its excellent direction. It does not make climate change the central theme, yet it never lets one forget the reason for the hardships faced by the characters. Characters struggle to leave behind their family. In the new habitat, they face difficulties surviving the calamities that befall them. Also, since a lot more time has passed on Earth, people are losing hope. It really puts the long term dangers of climate change into perspective by making them both practical and poignant.
Official trailer: Interstellar
9. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
(Image credits: IFC center)
This movie tells the story of a six-year-old girl who is suddenly faced with great adversities. Her ailing and stubborn father’s health starts failing while the ice caps around her home start melting. The displaced community is also attacked by prehistoric creatures called Aurochs, which serve as a metaphor for climate change. This touching film conveys the effects that climate change can have on children, who are blameless in this situation yet have to deal with the impact of global warming, resource exploitation, and natural disasters.
Official Trailer: Beasts of the Southern Wild
10. Avatar (2009)
(Image credits: Medium)
Avatar is set on a dying Earth, ruined by global warming, overpopulation and ozone depletion. To survive, scientists look at other places to live, whereupon they find Pandora, which is inhospitable to human beings but is home to the Na’vi people. Few people are given genetically matched Na’vi bodies or ‘Avatars’ to explore Pandora. While the natives live in harmony with nature, humans start ruining the ecosystem. This movie highlights the destructive nature of mankind and shows how man ruins even the most pristine environments almost immediately. It is a must-watch both for its plot and the fictional universe it is set in.
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