‘Dolphin Reef’ Review: Underwater Neighbors Steal the Show in Disney Documentary
While Natalie Portman narrates the story of a young dolphin, the Disneynature film is at its most fascinating when it introduces us to creatures like the humphead parrotfish and peacock mantis shrimp
Of the two Disneynature nature documentaries that arrive on Disney + on April 3, “Dolphin Reef” is the shorter and breezier of the two, and the one that doesn’t carry the news value of having Meghan Markle as a narrator, the way “Elephant” does. The film has also followed a meandering path to its release, coming out two years ago in France under the title “Blue” and changing its narrator from Cecile de France (for the French version) to Owen Wilson to Natalie Portman along the way.
And yet despite the delays and detours, “Dolphin Reef” is a satisfying entry in the Disneynature slate, albeit one where the dolphins in the title are upstaged by some of their supporting cast, and the reef itself is even more spectacular than the creatures who get the most screen time.
Think of it, maybe, as the “Goodfellas” of nature docs, with the peacock mantis shrimp stealing the show the way Joe Pesci did in that movie; or as one of those Tim Burton movies where the production design is more interesting than the dialogue.
Our ostensible heroes are “Echo,” a three-year-old bottlenose dolphin who is, we are told, playful and headstrong and not ready to leave his mother and fend for himself; and “Kuma,” his long-suffering mom who wants junior to grow up before he gets eaten by orcas or something. As usual for Disneynature offerings, naming the animals and giving them human motivations via the narration can be problematic for all but the kids in the audience; I find it annoying, but your mileage may vary.
The central story of director Keith Scholey’s movie is Echo’s coming of age, though it’s clear that particular narrative was probably constructed in the editing room more than actually playing out on this Polynesian coral reef. The “original story by Keith Scholey” credit suggests this is one of those Disneynature films that concocts a plausible and family-friendly narrative as a way to explore animal behavior and explain it to a young audience.
But the Echo story makes for a functional way to explore the reef, with its staggering beauty and wild variety of life. “Dolphin Reef” is at its most fascinating when it introduces us to the dolphins’ neighbors, including the aforementioned peacock mantis shrimp, who look as if they were formed by an explosion in the arts-and-crafts drawer of a preschool classroom; humphead parrotfish, who eat coral and poop sand; broadclub cuttlefish, with mouths that look like octopi stuck to the front of their heads; spiky and predatory lionfish; tiger sharks, who eat other sharks; humpback whales, with apparently elaborate rituals designed to secure foster fathers; and turtles – who, Portman tells us, “hate to wait in line.”
The delight in “Dolphin Reef” lies in the intricate dance of these creatures in a setting of otherworldly drama, and Scholey and co-director Alastair Fothergill are nature-doc vets who know how to get the footage. The oceans have been the setting for some of the most visually impressive nature filmmaking you’ll ever see, and this film adds a string of indelible images, from the opening shot of body-surfing dolphins, to a dramatic shark feeding frenzy in the dead of night, to close-ups of seemingly every tiny creature on the reef, to an ineffably graceful shot of the dolphins swimming in their sleep.
Portman’s narration is perky and casual; she’s here to play along more than to instruct. When she offhandedly mentions a couple of times that the reef is dying, you may want to hear why and what can be done – but Disneynature and the filmmakers behind “Dolphin Reef” would rather lure a young audience in by showing them how cute Echo and his pals are. They can leave the warnings and prescriptions for another time and a different movie.
15 Top Grossing Documentaries at the Box Office, From 'An Inconvenient Truth' to 'Fahrenheit 9/11' (Photos)
Documentaries are rarely big money makers, but they can have the power to influence change and motivate people to action in a way narrative films cannot. So when a documentary does make a splash at the box office, it's an even bigger surprise. This list of the top-15 grossing documentaries ever is an interesting mix of political, nature and concert docs, and several of them likewise went on to win Oscars and critical acclaim. All numbers are domestic totals via Box Office Mojo.
Warner Bros./National Geographic Films/Paramount Classics
15. "They Shall Not Grow Old" (2018) - $17.9 million
Director Peter Jackson went to painstaking lengths to digitally restore and transform 100-year-old archival footage for his powerful documentary on World War I. Jackson restored color and sound to the Great War, something that was previously only known through black and white silent film. The documentary performed well in part because of a release that even transformed the footage into 3D.
Warner Bros.
14. "Oceans" (2010) - $19.4 million
You'll see a lot of Disneynature documentaries on this list. Pierce Brosnan narrates this 2010 documentary filmed across the world's oceans.
Disneynature
13. "Bowling for Columbine" (2002) - $21.5 million
Michael Moore's provocative documentary about American gun violence (and one of his best) won the Oscar for Best Documentary and broke international box office records for a documentary in 2002.
United Artists
12. "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" (2018) - $22.8 million
Morgan Neville's portrait of Fred Rogers and "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" proved to be a crowd-pleasing hit in the summer of 2018 because of the absolute niceness at its heart. Neville in his film explains that Fred Rogers was the rare person who really did not have a dark side, and in "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" it shows.
Jim Judkis / Focus Features
11. "An Inconvenient Truth" (2006) - $24.1 million
Davis Guggenheim's documentary spotlighting former Vice President Al Gore's plea to alert the world to the effects of global warming and climate change went on to win two Oscars and earn a sequel.
Paramount Classics
10. "Sicko" (2007) - $24.5 million
Another Michael Moore movie to crack the list, "Sicko" was Moore's look at the healthcare industry in America compared to other nations, with Moore sailing sick veterans down to Cuba to receive the care they couldn't have had at home.
Lionsgate
9. "Katy Perry: Part of Me" (2012) - $25.3 million
This 2012 concert movie followed Katy Perry on her California Dreams World Tour.
Paramount Pictures
8. "One Direction: This Is Us" (2013) - $28.8 million
"Super Size Me" filmmaker Morgan Spurlock directed this concert doc about the then wildly popular British boy group.
TriStar
7. "Chimpanzee" (2012) - $28.9 million
Tim Allen narrated this Disneynature doc about a three-month old chimp separated from his flock and adopted by another grown male.
Disneynature
6. "Earth" (2007) - $32 million
The first of Disneynature's documentaries, "Earth" was a theatrical version of the popular "Planet Earth" miniseries from 2006. "Earth" was finally given a stateside theatrical release in 2009.
Disneynature
5. "2016: Obama's America" (2012) - $33.4 million
Dinesh D'Souza's anti-Obama documentary speculated about where the country would be if Obama won a second term in office in 2012.
Getty Images
4. "Michael Jackson's This Is It" (2009) - $72 million
The footage in "This Is It" comes from a behind-the-scenes look at preparation for Michael Jackson's 50 shows at London's O2 Arena. It wasn't originally meant to be made into a film, but it provided an intimate look at Jackson in his final days.
Getty Images
3. "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" (2011) - $73 million
The Biebs holds the spot for the highest-grossing concert film ever and the documentary with the biggest opening weekend of all time.
Paramount Pictures
2. "March of the Penguins" (2005) - $77.4 million
People sure love penguins. Morgan Freeman narrates the nature documentary that opened on just four screens but soon spread into a nationwide hit.
National Geographic Films
1. "Fahrenheit 9/11" (2004) - $119.1 million
Michael Moore's scathing documentary about President George W. Bush and the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks is the highest-grossing documentary of all time and it isn't even close. The film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Opening at over $23 million, the movie at the time opened higher than any other documentary had ever grossed in its lifetime. Moore followed up the film with a documentary about the 2016 election and Donald Trump, titled "Fahrenheit 11/9," which refers to the day after he was elected.
Miramax
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Michael Moore, Disneynature and several concert films top the list
Documentaries are rarely big money makers, but they can have the power to influence change and motivate people to action in a way narrative films cannot. So when a documentary does make a splash at the box office, it's an even bigger surprise. This list of the top-15 grossing documentaries ever is an interesting mix of political, nature and concert docs, and several of them likewise went on to win Oscars and critical acclaim. All numbers are domestic totals via Box Office Mojo.