OCEANS- Long before The Cove or March Of The Penguins, Disney’s “True-Life Adventures” series presented stunning visions of the wonder and fragility of nature that encouraged audiences to embrace and preserve the world’s natural beauty. Produced between 1948 and 1960, that award-winning series was clearly the inspiration behind Disneynature, the independent Mouse House production arm responsible for last year’s excellent eco-themed documentary, Earth.
The imprint’s second film, which was co-directed by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud (Winged Migration), takes a similar approach, balancing jaw-dropping visuals with sober musings on the underwater world’s future. “Wow!” is the operative word here, perfect for responding to everything from otherworldly pods of glowing jellyfish and beach-bound orcas gobbling seals for supper to massive schools of leaping dolphins and epic stone crab battles that look like lost scenes from The Lord Of The Rings.
Keeping it’s core kiddie audience in mind, the film is careful not to get too heavy-handed with its lecturing on the importance of saving our oceans from the threats of pollution, over-fishing and global warming. But at times you may find yourself wishing Pierce Brosnan’s narration had a bit more consciousness-raising substance to match Perrin and Cluzaud’s remarkable visual style.
Still, there are enough moments of wide-eyed wonder here to dazzle audiences of all ages, making up for a lack of storytelling with some of the most exquisite undersea images ever filmed. It may not win any Oscars, but Oceans would almost certainly make the legendary Jacques Costeau proud. (B) –Bret Love
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