Disneynature: Oceans – Documentary Review

Posted by Samuel Walters

Oceans is the second installment (here in the United States) from the Disneynature series to take a close, cinematic look at life on earth. Whereas the first installment, Earth, was essentially a “remix” of footage from BBC’s Planet Earth television series, Oceans heads across the English Channel for its inspiration, utilizing the work French cinematographers Jacques Perrin and Jacque Cluzaud. This provides a fresh, oftentimes evocative exploration of the sea and the life brimming within it. But the movie is also slow and leaden in its pace, surprisingly hindered by the narration by Pierce Brosnan. The result is a documentary that is well-worth the time … provided you’ve got a cup of tea, or coffee, to keep you awake through its slower paces.

Visually, Oceans is a beautiful film, filled with vivid colors, majestic seascapes, and an awe-inspiring sampling of the life with populates the seas. Whether its dolphins feeding off the coast of South Africa or humpback wales near Alaska, there’s never a moment which isn’t a feast for the eyes. The musical score, by Bruno Coulais, does an excellent job of complimenting the film. In many ways, the entire production doesn’t even require a narrator — it’s almost that good on its own merits.

Unfortunately, the script and narration hinder the film, significantly. Perhaps something has been lost in translation from French to English, but the script is terribly overwrought and seems to be trying too hard to be “poetic.” Furthermore, while Brosnan sounds like an inspired choice, his vocal work is anything but inspired. Lethargic might be a better description. The film is filled with half-whispers and worse yet, Brosnan’s voice almost entirely lacks any kind of conviction — a problem for a film with such an explicit environmenalist message.

Framed by images of blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy, the film tries to weave a cautionary tale in favor of conservation and against pollution of humanity. More than once it evokes how much damage has occurred within the span of a human generation. It’s all true, of course, and the need for greater awareness an, more importantly, greater action has never been, well, greater. But the film sometimes seems too obvious and clumsy in delivering its message. It certainly fares better than, say, An Inconvenient Truth, because it allows the planet and the vibrant life on it to take center stage. But one wonders if the film is preaching a bit too much to the choir.

Also important to note is Disney’s influence on the final product, at least here in the United States. 2009’s Earth was mostly matter-of-fact when it came to the life-and-death struggles of nature. It was never gory or graphic — but Earth didn’t shy away from the predator-prey relationship. Oceans, too, features this relationship, but the sequences are noticeably tame. There are a few shots of Great Whites attack sea lions, or Orcas attacking seal pups, but the editing keeps the moments of attack mostly implied. According to wikipedia, “The version distributed in the USA and Canada by DisneyNature is 20 minutes shorter than the world version of the film, and is edited for a youth audience.” For better or worse, the result is a film which a four-year-old can watch without too much trouble — or too many questions about what happens to the prey.

Overall Grade: B-

Oceans benefits from being its own movie, breaking free from rehashing the work of others. It’s a beautiful film, featuring exquisite visuals and a beautiful soundtrack. But the narration and script are problematic. And Disney’s influence provides a more sanitized version of “life on earth”.

Topics: Documentary
Filed under: BBC, The Blue Planet