NEW YORK: James Cameron has been selected as an executive producer of the six-part Super/Natural series produced by Disney+ and National Geographic. His upcoming film is 'Avatar'.

The effects sometimes morph the animals into something like stars in a Marvel movie, with their bellows distorting the air, lumbering attacks that cause shock waves in sand or pheromones from an insect rendered as bursting noxious clouds. Even trees light up when sugars move through their roots.

Our aim is to show the magic of nature at its highest level in the eyes of the beholder. “We're not actually falsifying or turning it into a superhero movie. We're giving an access portal for our limited senses into a natural world that goes far, far beyond anything that we can sense directly,” Cameron told reporters recently.

The episodes are arranged by theme — eat or be eaten, the mating game and bloodlines are some of the topics — and viewers get a visual treat as cameras capture everything from fireflies in Mexico producing a synchronized light show to bottlenose dolphins teaming up with Brazilian fishermen. to catch mullet.

“What's our purpose in this? Not just to entertain, but absolutely to teach and to show the wonder, the majesty, the complexity, of nature,” said Cameron. "We're going to pull out every trick we know as entertainers, as storytellers, to try to get that engagement."

So unlike a traditional nature documentary where adding effects is a strict no-no, “Super/Natural” allows us to feel what bat sonar might look like, see what a bumblebee sees or how bears communicate with invisible clues.

“The bear can smell pheromones, but we can't see it. It's a visual medium; it's not a smell medium,” he said. “It is real. It's just that we can't see it. So we have to use the effects to see as they see or to smell as they smell.”

The series is narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, who is lively, sly and delicious in his descriptions. “The female of the species is into some pretty freaky stuff,” he says of vampire spiders. Of cicadas popping out after 17 years underground, he drily adds: "America's biggest speed dating event is about to begin."

Cameron was full of praise for Cumberbatch: “He doesn't just narrate it; he acts it,” he said. "He gets you inside what's happening in a way that I think is very relatable."

Cameron, an ardent environmentalist and vegan, sees “Super/Natural” as a logical extension of his latest filmmaking, which includes the upcoming fantasy “Avatar: The Way of Water.” In both, he hopes to reawaken a sense of wonder for the natural world.

Cameron's last documentary series on animals was "Secrets of the Whales" narrated by Sigourney Weaver. The director has fond memories from growing up in Canada of exploring the woods, trapping insects and watching birds.