May 7, 2010 11:01 PM
- Text
"Babies" Watched by the Whole World
If you're a mom, heck, if you're a human, "Babies" might be the ultimate feel-good film.
CBS News correspondent Tracy Smith reports the film chronicles the first year in the lives of four babies from four walks of life: Mongolia, Japan, Namibia, and the United States.
The idea was to make a wildlife film of sorts: just lock down the camera, and watch what happens.
Photos: "Babies" The Movie"
"You can see them learning very little things like eating a rock," said producer Alain Chabat. "It's not good, I won't eat a rock."
While some may gasp at the ideas other cultures have of babyproofing - there is a unifying theme: love.
Every parent knows you put a kid in front of a camera and magic happens. But this is a 79-minute film with no big stars, no dialogue, no narration. So the question are babies bankable box office?
"People are wondering - are 'babies' the new penguins?" asked Entertainment Weekly's Jill Bernstein.
She's referring to "March of the Penguins," which won Best Documentary in 2006, grossing over $77 million. That film had more of a plot, but some say "Babies" makes up for it in cuteness.
"That baby doesn't know you're watching it and it's fascinating to watch a creature that doesn't know he or she is being watched," Bernstein said.
Thanks in part to a perfectly timed Mother's Day release, "Babies" has already gotten lots of attention: Newspaper headlines, a Facebook page, and over 400,000 hits on YouTube.
While it may not be able to take on that other film opening this weekend, "Iron Man 2," "Babies" does have a built in audience. Even Iron Man had a mother.
Copyright 2010 CBS. All rights reserved. CBS News correspondent Tracy Smith reports the film chronicles the first year in the lives of four babies from four walks of life: Mongolia, Japan, Namibia, and the United States.
The idea was to make a wildlife film of sorts: just lock down the camera, and watch what happens.
Photos: "Babies" The Movie"
"You can see them learning very little things like eating a rock," said producer Alain Chabat. "It's not good, I won't eat a rock."
While some may gasp at the ideas other cultures have of babyproofing - there is a unifying theme: love.
Every parent knows you put a kid in front of a camera and magic happens. But this is a 79-minute film with no big stars, no dialogue, no narration. So the question are babies bankable box office?
"People are wondering - are 'babies' the new penguins?" asked Entertainment Weekly's Jill Bernstein.
She's referring to "March of the Penguins," which won Best Documentary in 2006, grossing over $77 million. That film had more of a plot, but some say "Babies" makes up for it in cuteness.
"That baby doesn't know you're watching it and it's fascinating to watch a creature that doesn't know he or she is being watched," Bernstein said.
Thanks in part to a perfectly timed Mother's Day release, "Babies" has already gotten lots of attention: Newspaper headlines, a Facebook page, and over 400,000 hits on YouTube.
While it may not be able to take on that other film opening this weekend, "Iron Man 2," "Babies" does have a built in audience. Even Iron Man had a mother.
3 Comments +
Popular Now in CBS Evening News
- Colo. senator who pushed for gun control may lose job
- Couple's steamy romance e-books save their home
- Two teens stranded 8,000 feet up on cliff rescued by chopper
- Innovative Ariz. class turns students' dreams into reality
- 6/18: Officials say NSA stopped over 50 potential terror attacks; Hi-tech giant creates next generation of Edisons
- David Coleman Headley: Terror sleeper agent foiled by NSA
- Attack at Bagram
- Okla. tornado survivor finds dog buried alive under rubble
- Ghost army: How a group of artists helped win WWII
- President Obama defends decisions on surveillance and Syria
- Couple reeling from recession rewrites story, publishes romance novels
- Officials say NSA programs stopped over 50 potential terror attacks
- The power of a uniquely American song
- World's vegetation seen in stunning satellite imagery
- Notebook: Banks
- Iran's new president-elect seen as bridge-builder
















