Disneynature’s “OCEANS” Documentary Another Earth Day Cash Cow?
Filed under: Featured, film-tv, movies — Michael d'Estries @ 9:48 am
October 20th 2009
Last April, Disneynature lit up the Earth Day celebrations with the release of EARTH – a gorgeous documentary that featured some of the planet’s greatest natural hits. The flick went on to break a record for the genre with a weekend opening box office of $4 million — and eventually raked in over $108 million worldwide. Needless to say, Disney immediately announced the release of their next Earth Day contender called OCEANS. Last weekend, the new documentary screened at the Tokyo Film Festival. Based on one reviewer’s reaction, it looks like Disney will have yet another winner this coming April. From Collider.com,
“Oceans is a movie that has to been seen to be believed. The footage, which was painstakingly gathered over several years, is nothing short of remarkable. And I say that having already seen Planet Earth. A joint venture among Walt Disney Studios and the French studios of Notro Films and Galatee Films, the movie does take advantage of the enviro-soapbox but it is still able to entrance the audience by providing a glimpse into the power and mystery of the oceans.”
We’re not sure if this will remain the case, but the current narrator of OCEANS isn’t some celebrity (Both Patrick Stewart and James Earl Jones narrated different versions of EARTH) but director Jacques Perrin. You may remember him as the creator of the bird doc Winged Migration. Nevertheless, Collider says Perrin’s narration is actual a nice departure from the usual kind.
“His infrequent narration gives the film a loose structure while allowing the audience to drift along the visual tides. He makes a very cogent argument at the end of the film, saying that humans, in their Icarian eagerness to reach the stars, forgot to look back and see the beauty and mystery that already surrounded them. This tragic mistake has led to the devaluing of the oceans and their subsequent disrepair. Of course, like Captain Planet says, the power to change this is yours.”
We’re looking forward to seeing OCEANS — and are especially hopeful that Disneynature will tie in some kind of environmental benefit to the opening weekend; like they did with their trees for tickets campaign last year. Check out a trailer for OCEANS after the fold below.
Yay I cant wait to see this documentary! Scuba Diving is my favourite hobby and being underwater is a dream
This is so exciting! The filming looks absolutely incredible. My thoughts exactly about Disney making a similar donation during opening weekend like they did with the EARTH premiere. There are so many organizations that would be a perfect fit. Can’t wait, thanks for sharing!
We recently rented Earth, and it was incredible to watch. The footage was breathtaking, funny & heartbreaking. Can’t wait to see Ocean.
Ok, Earth was comprised completely of footage from ‘Planet Earth.’ Now this looks exactly like ‘Blue Planet.’
Way to milk someone else’s hard work, Disney.