Flight of the Butterflies (2012)

When Fred Urquhart (1911–2002) was a little boy in Toronto, he was fascinated by a crazy question—where did all those beautiful black and orange Monarch butterflies go every fall when it got cold?  Urquhart would go on to become a zoologist who, along with his wife Norah and thousands of volunteer "citizen scientists," is credited with documenting one of the most fascinating discoveries in natural history and one of the longest migrations on earth.  This 44-minute film follows two lives, really, those of Urquhart and the butterflies.  From a tiny egg, to a very hungry black and yellow caterpillar, to a chrysalis for two weeks, and then to an adult butterfly, the Monarchs begin in their winter habitation in central Mexico.  It then takes about three generations of Monarchs, 500 million strong, about six months to fly through the United States and on to Canada, where they breed.  Then, a single "super generation" that lives eight times longer than its predecessors makes the return trip of 2,500 miles back to Mexico.  If you are searching for a fun and family friendly movie, look no further.  This film was underwritten by the National Science Foundation and originally made for 3D IMAX.  I watched it on Netflix streaming.