''Beavers'' is a 1988

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme F ...

documentary directed by

Stephen Low Stephen Low may refer to: * Stephen Low (diplomat) Stephen Low (December 2, 1927, Cincinnati – November 15, 2010) was an American diplomat. He was a graduate of Yale University and Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He was ...

, focused on the lives of a group of

beavers Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

Port Perry Port Perry is a community located in Scugog, Ontario, Canada. The town is located northeast of central Toronto and north of Oshawa and Whitby. Port Perry has a population of 9,453 as of 2016. Port Perry serves as the administrative and commerc ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and

Kananaskis Country Kananaskis Country is a multi-use area west of Calgary, Alberta, Canada in the foothills and front ranges of the Canadian Rockies. The area is named for the Kananaskis River, which was named by John Palliser in 1858 after a Cree acquaintance. Cove ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. Wildlife expert William Carrick had hand-raised the beavers prior to filming, but they were not trained to perform; Low later described their performance as "very natural" and uninhibited by the presence of cameras and crew.Beavers , The Stephen Low Company
/ref> ''Beavers'' was Low's second IMAX film, following his short documentary ''Skyward'', which had debuted at Expo 85 in

Tsukuba is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 244,528 in 108,669 households and a population density of 862 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 20.3%. The total ar ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Dentsu Dentsu Inc. ( ja, 株式会社電通 ''Kabushiki-gaisha Dentsū'' or 電通 ''Dentsū'' for short) is a Japanese international advertising and public relations joint stock company headquartered in Tokyo. Dentsu is currently the largest adverti ...

, a Japanese advertising company, liked ''Skywards depiction of

Canada geese The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is o ...

and contracted with Low for ''Beavers''. Filmed in 15/70 IMAX format, the movie was eventually screened in 21 countries in 17 different languages. A 34-minute "Director's Cut" was released in 2019, and again shown in IMAX theaters, with 12.1

surround sound Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener ( surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to sur ...

and new aerial sequences. Critics' reviews were generally positive, with Michael Walsh awarding it three stars, but noting Low's tendency to anthropomorphize his subjects in a Disney-like fashion. Jeff Strickler of the ''

Star Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...

'' felt the knowledge that the beavers "are, in effect, actors" takes the edge off the amazement of the photography, but nonetheless gave the film eight out of ten stars and praised the cinematography.

References

External links

Official website

IMDb listing
American documentary films IMAX short films IMAX documentary films 1980s English-language films Films about animals {{1980s-documentary-film-stub