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I’ll just come out and say it — butterflies are awesome. And the hour-long Nova documentary The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies captures them in all their glory, and tells an interesting story.

Every year, 100 million monarch butterflies set off on an incredible journey across vast stretches of North America, crossing mountains, plains, highways and great lakes. These beautiful creatures fly 2,000 miles to reach their remote destination: a tiny area high in the mountains of Mexico. Yet scientists still puzzle over how the butterflies achieve this tremendous feat of endurance — and how, year after year, the monarchs navigate this path with such hair’s-breadth precision. Flying along with the monarchs, director Nick de Pencier oversees a visitation of the spectacular locations they call home, meeting the many dangers they encounter along the way. Shot in stunning detail, and narrated with an engaging solicitousness by Stockard Channing, The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies reveals the monarch butterfly as a scientific marvel locked in an inspiring struggle for survival.

Housed in a regular translucent Blu-ray snap-shut case, The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies comes presented in a stunning 1080i high definition video transfer, with English language 5.1 Dolby digital and stereo audio tracks and optional English SDH subtitles. There are unfortunately no supplemental extras, which would be a nice inclusion, but the Blu-ray presentation really makes the best use possible of this always amazing, often macro-photography. To order this title or any DVD release from WGBH Boston Video, phone (800) 949-8670 or click here. B (Movie) B- (Disc)