Dolphin Reef (film)
Dolphin Reef | |
---|---|
Directed by | |
Written by | David Fowler |
Produced by |
|
Narrated by | Natalie Portman |
Cinematography | Paul Atkins |
Edited by | Martin Elsbury |
Music by | Steven Price |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Disney+ |
Release dates | |
Running time | 78 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Dolphin Reef is a 2018 American nature documentary film about dolphins directed by Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey and narrated by Natalie Portman.[2] It is the fourteenth nature documentary to be released under the Disneynature label. The film was released theatrically on March 28, 2018, in France under the title Blue with actress Cécile de France providing narration.[3]
It was originally scheduled to be released theatrically on April 20, 2018, in the United States under the title Dolphins with narration by Owen Wilson, but was confirmed to be taken off the theatrical calendar the week of release.[4] It was then announced that the film would be released at the launch of Disney+, making it the first Disneynature film to be released exclusively on the streaming platform in the United States, with Natalie Portman narrating,[5][2] but Disney+ launched without Dolphin Reef being available to watch.
The film was finally released alongside Elephant as a Disney+ exclusive on April 3, 2020.[1] Dolphin Reef received largely positive critical reviews.
Plot
In the reefs near a group of
One night while the rest of the pod is asleep, Echo is surprised to be greeted by a female mother humpback whale named Mo'orea, who has traveled miles to Echo's homes to find a male partner to help protect her newborn daughter, Fluke (who doesn't seem sure about Echo at first, but eventually accepts him as a friend). Kumu soon calls out for her son, and Echo bids farewell to the two whales. Kumu then grounds Echo for hanging out with the whales miles away, much to Echo's dismay. Many male humpback whales are about to set off to fight over Mo'orea and Fluke, but the largest one is more determined.
Mr. Mantis, meanwhile, is having his own problems trying to get his coral together and trying to get his fellow gardeners to work, but to his surprise, a school of
As night falls, Echo and his pod are confronted by another pod of rival dolphins. The home team and rivals fight each other, while Echo swims off and is lost. Kumu and the rest of the pod spend hours looking for him. Echo, who has become lost in the dark sea, meets a sea turtle, and the two escape up to the surface for air. Echo survives the night, and is reunited with Kumu. Kumu starts to teach her son how to hunt fish, she uses her tail to make a mud ring to block the fish. Echo successfully copies the same, and he and the rest of the pod enjoy their meal of fish. Back on Coral Reef, Mr. Mantis is confronted by the Cuttlefish. Before it can catch him with its mouth, Echo comes to the rescue.
Echo has now learned the importance of how to survive the ocean, thanks to his mother. Mo'orea and Fluke begin a new life with the large male, who fathers Fluke, and Mr. Mantis continues to enjoy his pile of coral. Soon, Echo and Fluke become best friends and live a happy life together with their families.
Cast
- Natalie Portman as the narrator
Themes
The whole idea of the film is actually based on very hard-nosed ecology. The coral reef can actually only functions with a lot of participants doing different roles in a very ordered and organized way ... If anyone who watches the film comes away thinking, 'if you live in the ocean, you need friends', that for us is a success story. Then, we hope that will translate into you can't just start overfishing certain species because the community will not survive if you kind of do that. So, there is a bigger message in the film.
Scholey, in an interview with Screen Fish[6]
Through the antics of Echo, the film asserts that children should listen to their parents.[7] Producer Roy Conli said that "it was clear that the way that a mother and young dolphin react is that the mother is truly the supervisor and is responsible, post weaning, to bring a male or female young dolphin to maturity".[7]
The film also promotes conservation of the reefs. Its "making-of" documentary, Diving with Dolphins, revealed that in the three years of production of the film, one-third of the reef used on location died.[8] Despite this, Scholey said: "If the young people can fall in love with the ocean and its creatures, the oceans have a hope. That's why I make these films. That's the goal".[6]
Development
The heroes of these films are the cinematographers who are out in the field.
Producer Roy Conli in an interview with Collider.[7]
It required research to find a dolphin pod that would allow humans to film.[6] The featured pod is in the Red Sea.[6]
Production
It took over three years to make the production.[8] The filming was done in French Polynesia, Hawaii, and Florida by cinematographers Roger Horrocks, Paul Atkins, Didier Noirot (who previously worked on Jacques Cousteau's crew) and Jamie McPherson.[8] Scientists on hand were Angela Ziltener, Laura Engelby and Joe Mobley.[8] The fact that dolphins are always in motion and can move very quickly presented a challenge during filming.[8] Horrok said that while dolphins are the "most welcome" animals he's ever filmed, he conceded that "filming dolphins is the most physical because they're constantly on the move".[8] Along that same vein, Conli said "that it's really difficult to stay up with one dolphin. There was one Echo, who was the guiding force, and then I like to say that Echo had a lot of stunt doubles".[7] For fast moving scenes, shots were captured on a scooter fitted with a torpedo-like propeller.[8] As it is impossible to follow a dolphin for an extended amount of time, cinematographers would film as long as they could, gathering thousands of hours of footage.[6] They would also film elements from the dolphins' environment. The editing team (led by Martin Elsbury)[12] then pieced together a narrative that, according to Scholey, is "true to the life of a dolphin".[6]
Photography not taken underwater was done by bot, from jet ski, or from helicopter.[8]
Portman recorded her narration in a studio in Los Angeles.[6] The directors provided notes on the behavior happening on screen to inform her narration.[6]
Release
The film was released in 2018 in France with the title Blue and with
Diving With Dolphins is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Dolphin Reef.
Reception
Critical response
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes assigned the film a score of 100% based on 20 reviews,[14][note 1] while Metacritic assigned it a 79 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[15] Owen Gleiberman with Variety called the film "a puckish, bedazzling, and memorable entry in the Disney nature canon".[16]
Music
Steven Price (of Gravity, Our Planet, and Suicide Squad) composed the film's original score.[citation needed] He said scoring the film was "fun" since the "flow of water is so musical" and Disneynature still "values tunes ... and emotional music".[21] He also noted that, historically, Disney has produced nature films as "family-based thing", but that this story focused on being ecologically sound, about "the interconnection of everything", and character driven.[22] He says this approach led him to approach writing in a different way.[22] Price led a 76-piece orchestra with a choir of 24 female voices at Abbey Road studio.[21][22] He also employed the use of synthesizers to capture the "colors" of the underwater story.[22]
Soundtrack
Disney made the soundtrack available for digital release on April 3, 2020.[citation needed] The following is a list of tracks on the commercially available original soundtrack.[23]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "A Different Set of Rules" | 2:21 |
2. | "Flook" | |
3. | "The Clam Shell Challenge" | |
4. | "Introducing the Dolphins" | |
5. | "The Nightmare of Mr. Mantis" | |
6. | "The Coral Clean Up Squad" | |
7. | "Safety in Numbers" | |
8. | "When They Meet It Is Magical" | |
9. | "There Is Unexpected Treasure Here" | |
10. | "Fine Sand Evacuation" | |
11. | "Get Off My Lawn" | |
12. | "The Great Contest Has Begun" | |
13. | "The Cleaning Station" | |
14. | "Strongest of the Humpbacks" | |
15. | "Ambush" | |
16. | "Lionfish in the Moonlight" | |
17. | "The Largest Breath of Air" | |
18. | "The Largest Breath of Air" | |
19. | "High Speed Hydroplaning" | |
20. | "A Very Special Trick" | |
21. | "Times of Crisis" | |
22. | "Echo Fires Up Another" | |
23. | "The Pulsating Blob of Death" | |
24. | "A Great Example" | |
25. | "Out to Sea" |
Footnotes
Notes
- ^ With only 20 reviews as of July 25, 2020, the website does not consider the score a consensus.
Citations
- ^ a b Spellberg, Claire (March 18, 2020). "New On Disney+ April 2020". Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- ^ a b Vlessing, Etan (April 22, 2019). "Natalie Portman to Narrate Disney's 'Dolphin Reef' Movie". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
- ^ Baronnet, Brigitte (March 28, 2018). "Sorties cinéma : Ready Player One en force aux premières séances parisiennes". AlloCiné. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- ^ Hoffman, Jordan (April 17, 2019). "All 13 Disneynature Movies, Ranked". Thrillist. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (April 22, 2019). "Natalie Portman To Narrate Disneynature's 'Dolphin Reef' Movie For Disney+". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Norton, Steve (April 2, 2020). "Real-Life Adventures: 1on1 with Keith Scholey and Roy Conli (DOLPHIN REEF)". screenfish.net. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g Radish, Christina (April 3, 2020). "'Dolphin Reef' Producer Roy Conli on the Disney+ Doc and How Natalie Portman Got Involved". Collider. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hay, Carla (April 3, 2020). "Dolphin Reef Archives". CULTURE MIX. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ Pond, Steve (April 1, 2020). "'Dolphin Reef' Review: Underwater Neighbors Steal the Show in Disney Documentary". TheWrap. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ People staff (April 20, 2020). "This Earth Day, Natalie Portman Wants People to Realize 'You Can't Live in a Bubble'". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ Kinane, Ruth (April 3, 2020). "Natalie Portman takes us under the sea and inside her new Disney+ nature doc 'Dolphin Reef'". EW.com. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ "Dolphin Reef". SFFILM. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ @Disneynature (April 14, 2017). "Make a splash with @Disneynature's #Dolphins, coming Earth Day 2018! 🌊🐬 #NationalDolphinDay" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Disneynature: Dolphin Reef (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
- ^ "Dolphin Reef". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
- ^ Gleiberman, Owen (March 31, 2020). "'Dolphin Reef' on Disney Plus: Film Review". Variety.
- ^ Scheck, Frank (March 30, 2020). "'Dolphin Reef': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
- ^ Rutledge, Daniel (March 4, 2020). "Review: Dolphin Reef is the delightful, wondrous joy we need right now". Newshub. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ Gleiberman, Owen (March 31, 2020). "'Dolphin Reef' on Disney Plus: Film Review". Variety. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
- ^ "Dolphin Reef Movie Review | Common Sense Media". www.commonsensemedia.org. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
- ^ a b Michael Hollands (December 8, 2019). A conversation with Steven Price (video). Sound-Of-The-Movies. Event occurs at 42:08. Retrieved May 4, 2020 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b c d Burlingame, Jon (July 2, 2020). "Documentaries Look to Score in Emmys' Music Race". Variety. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
- ^ Soberman, Matthew (April 7, 2020). "Disneynature's "Dolphin Reef" and "Elephant" Original Soundtracks Now Available for Digital Purchase and Streaming". WDW News Today. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
External links
- Dolphin Reef at IMDb
- Dolphin Reef on Disney+