Tag: Killer Whale
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Surf’s Up. Dir. Ash Brannon & Chris Buck. Columbia Pictures. 2007.
Released in 2007, during the surge of penguin movies, Surf’s Up is a unique animated mockumentary exploring how penguins are the ‘real’ inventors of the worldwide sport, surfing. A documentary crew (ironically, Brannon and Buck cast themselves) follow the journey of Cody Maverick (Shia LaBeouf), a Rockhopper penguin from Antarctica who dreams of becoming a…
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Happy Feet. Dir. George Miller. Warner Bros. Pictures. 2006.
The Warner Bros. Pictures (2006) film Happy Feet tells the heart-warming tale of Mumble (Elijah Wood), a dancing emperor penguin who is a little different from the rest of his kind.[1] Mumble becomes an outcast in his own community because unlike every emperor penguin before him he is unable to sing. His talents lie elsewhere in the form…
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Happy Feet. Dir. George Miller. Warner Bros. Pictures. 2006.
Happy Feet (Dir. George Miller, 2006) is a film normally associated with the representation of environmental issues, encouraging environmental awareness and consciousness of the animals worldwide affected by human actions. It also presents the theme of individuality, with the main character Mumble shunned for being different but eventually accepted into the penguin community after he is…
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The Cove. Dir. Louie Psihoyos. Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions. 2009.
Academy Award winning The Cove (2009) is a documentary film that follows a group of activists, led by renowned dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry, on their mission to expose the mistreatment of dolphins and porpoises in Taiji, Japan. The documentary tells of O’Barry’s own complex relationship with cetaceans, with The Cove exploring and attempting to justify his decision to fight…
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Free Willy. Dir. Simon Wincer. Warner Bros. Family Entertainment. 1993.
Famed for its CGI clip of a killer whale jumping over a wall into freedom, family film Free Willy follows a young boy’s transformation from “street kid” to animal activist after forming a bond with hostile orca Willy. 12 year old Jesse’s bond enables him to train and care for the three ton orca, which several trainers…
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The Whale. Dir. Suzanne Chisholm & Michael Parfit. Kinosmith & Paladin. 2011.
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Blackfish. Dir. Gabriela Cowperthwaite. Magnolia Pictures. 2013.
Blackfish is a documentary which focuses on the danger of keeping killer whales in captivity. The documentary film argues that this danger affects, not just the human trainers of these highly intelligent animals, but also the marine creatures themselves. Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite focuses on one whale in particular; Tilikum a 6 ton bull orca, who…