Over the past weekend, I went go see Disneynature’s new film “Oceans.” After much awaited anticipation and excitement over what new oceanic discoveries the movie would reveal, I hoped to see baby sea turtles desperately making their way into the ocean to begin their life and penguins engaging in a deep sea battle of getting food. The movie delivered on most of these hopes. It took the audience on an action packed adventure through the sea.
However, before I go on, I must say I was disappointed by one detail of the film: many of the scenes were enhanced by computer technology to make the nature seem more intense and lively. For some who are not as familiar with oceans and aquatic life, it might not have been as obvious that specific scenes were being enhanced. However for those who are familiar with oceans and aquatic life, the enhancement was undeniable. I felt that the nature portrayed in this film was beautiful enough without having to be enhanced by technology.
Despite this criticism that I did have about the movie, it still succeeded in proving a main point: people need to be educated about the oceans and the aquatic life that dwell there. The directors allowed viewers to step inside the life of aquatic creatures in hopes to send the message that it is important that as humans we do all we can to protect their habitat. In one powerful scene, a seal was swimming among tons of trash, all produced by humans. It was disturbing to see him swim past a shopping cart that had been discarded at the bottom of the sea. This visual hopefully will help open up people’s eyes to the truth that we need to do a better job of not polluting oceans.
At the end of the movie I was left feeling satisfied that it had done a good job of revealing exciting and exotic sea creatures and their habitat to viewers. I hope that the movie will help people understand that if we don’t protect our oceans the sea creatures seen in the movie won’t be able to thrive. While digitally enhanced clips of aquatic life are appealing to the eye, it’s important that people understand that aquatic life deserves a healthy and sustainable place to live; it is not meant to provide us with something appealing to watch. The movie also revealed a scary truth that if we don’t help sustain the environment and oceans, then the only option we will have in the future will be movies and footage of the creatures that once occupied ocean waters. People need to take away from the movie that commitment to preserving sea habitats is vital. I encourage everyone to get out there and see it. You just might be surprised by what you discover is living in our oceans.
