''Oceans'' (french: Océans) is a 2009 French
nature documentary
A nature documentary or wildlife documentary is a genre of documentary film or series about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures, usually concentrating on video taken in their natural habitat but also often including footage of tr ...
film directed, produced, co-written, and narrated by
Jacques Perrin
Jacques Perrin (born Jacques André Simonet; 13 July 1941 – 21 April 2022) was a French actor and film producer. He was occasionally credited as Jacques Simonet.
Early life
Jacques André Simonet was born on the Boulevard Port-Royal in P ...
, with Jacques Cluzaud as co-director. The film, produced in association with the
Census of Marine Life
The Census of Marine Life was a 10-year, US $650 million scientific initiative, involving a global network of researchers in more than 80 nations, engaged to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life in the oceans. Th ...
, explores the
marine species of
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
's five
ocean
The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...
s and reflects on the
negative aspects of human activity on the environment, with Perrin (
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan (; born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 (''GoldenEye'', ''Tomorrow ...
in English) providing narration.
Budgeted at around $80 million, it was filmed in over 50 different places and took four years to film. In North America, the film was produced by
Disneynature
Disneynature is an independent film studio that specializes in the production of nature documentary films for The Walt Disney Studios. The production company was founded on April 21, 2008, and is headquartered in Paris, France.
The company's n ...
and distributed by
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, formerly known as Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. until 2007, is an American film distribution studio within the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. It ha ...
, who cut 20 minutes mostly depicting violent massacres of sea animals (recreated through visual effects) in order to aim it at a younger audience.
Plot
''Oceans'' presents details and facts about the journey of the ocean. The film begins on a beach and there are boys and one of them wonders what the ocean is. The scene cuts to the Galapagos where a clan of
marine iguana
The marine iguana (''Amblyrhynchus cristatus''), also known as the sea iguana, saltwater iguana, or Galápagos marine iguana, is a species of iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador). Unique among modern lizards, it is a marine repti ...
s and
horseshoe crab
Horseshoe crabs are marine and brackish water arthropods of the family Limulidae and the only living members of the order Xiphosura. Despite their name, they are not true crabs or crustaceans: they are chelicerates, most closely related to arachn ...
s wander. Then at night a rocket takes off and surprises the two clans. Meanwhile, the rocket takes off to outer space. Then goes to the trench where the larvae of
sea urchin
Sea urchins () are spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin live on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to . The spherical, hard shells (tests) of ...
and the crustacean egg lie. Then comes to a swarm of moon
jellyfish
Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbrella- ...
. Then at day a different type of jellyfish float along the current.
Later at the coast of South Africa, a hungry mob of common
dolphin
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...
s,
gannet
Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus ''Morus'' in the family Sulidae, closely related to boobies.
Gannets are large white birds with yellowish heads; black-tipped wings; and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the Nor ...
s,
bronze whaler shark
The copper shark (''Carcharhinus brachyurus''), bronze whaler, or narrowtooth shark, is a species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae, and the only member of its genus found mostly at temperate latitudes. It is distributed in a number of sepa ...
s, and
brydes whale
Bryde's whale ( Brooder's), or the Bryde's whale complex, putatively comprises three species of rorqual and maybe four. The "complex" means the number and classification remains unclear because of a lack of definitive information and research ...
s hunt
sardine
"Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the Ital ...
s. After the feast,
manta ray
Manta rays are large rays belonging to the genus ''Mobula'' (formerly its own genus ''Manta''). The larger species, '' M. birostris'', reaches in width, while the smaller, '' M. alfredi'', reaches . Both have triangular Pectoral fin#AnchPect ...
s gobble down a few sardines. moments later a
blanket octopus
''Tremoctopus'' is a genus of pelagic cephalopods, containing four species that occupy surface to mid-waters in subtropical and tropical oceans. They are commonly known as blanket octopuses, in reference to the long, transparent webs that connect ...
swims quietly along the current. Meanwhile, the sardines start making odd shapes. At a beach,
sea lion
Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...
s rest in the sun. In deeper water, a
humpback whale
The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hump ...
and her calf start to flipper slap, spyhop, and breach. Meanwhile, the sea lions start hunting. the others on the beach watch sally lightfoot
crab
Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...
s crawl on the sand. The hunting sea lions are returning home, but some are eaten by a
great white shark
The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major oceans. It is nota ...
and a
killer whale
The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pa ...
. In the deeper waters, a
blue whale
The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known to have ever existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...
feasts on some
krill
Krill are small crustaceans of the order Euphausiacea, and are found in all the world's oceans. The name "krill" comes from the Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in n ...
. At twilight, birds are flying back to their nests. At night carnivores are out to hunt on the reef including the
mantis shrimp
Mantis shrimp, or stomatopods, are carnivorous marine crustaceans of the order Stomatopoda (). Stomatopods branched off from other members of the class Malacostraca around 340 million years ago. Mantis shrimp typically grow to around in lengt ...
who kills a crab. In Australia, a
Spanish dancer
The Spanish dancer, scientific name ''Hexabranchus sanguineus'' (literally meaning "blood-colored six-gills"), is a dorid nudibranch, a very large and colorful sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Hexabranchidae.
Description
T ...
comes out of its home. At day,
bottlenose dolphin
Bottlenose dolphins are aquatic mammals in the genus ''Tursiops.'' They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus definitively contains two species: the common ...
s are leaping on the waves. Meanwhile, a
dugong
The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest m ...
and green
sea turtle
Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, ...
are feasting on
sea grass
Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae), all in the orde ...
. On the beach, baby sea turtles have to make it to the ocean without being eaten by
frigatebird
Frigatebirds are a family of seabirds called Fregatidae which are found across all tropical and subtropical oceans. The five extant species are classified in a single genus, ''Fregata''. All have predominantly black plumage, long, deeply forked ...
s, which only one baby turtle survives. In the sea,
sailfish
The sailfish is one or two species of marine fish in the genus ''Istiophorus'', which belong to the family Istiophoridae (marlins). They are predominantly blue to gray in colour and have a characteristically large dorsal fin known as the sa ...
are feasting on fish.
At a
coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
Co ...
, creatures are minding their own business. Beyond the reef a
cuttlefish
Cuttlefish or cuttles are marine molluscs of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses. Cuttlefish have a unique internal shell, the cuttlebone, which is used for control of ...
is eating crabs. After that,
garden eel
The garden eels are the subfamily Heterocongrinae in the conger eel family Congridae. The majority of garden eels live in the Indo-Pacific, but species are also found in warmer parts of the Atlantic Ocean (including the Caribbean) and East Paci ...
s and
razorfish
Razorfish may refer to:
Species Fish
A common name used for three unrelated groups of fishes:
* The genera ''Aeoliscus'', and ''Centriscus'', also known as shrimpfishes, in the family Centriscidae
* The genus ''Xyrichtys'' of the family Labridae
* ...
act really smooth. After that,
spider crabs
The Majoidea are a superfamily of crabs which includes the various spider crabs.
Taxonomy
In "''A classification of living and fossil genera of decapod crustaceans''" De Grave and colleagues divided Majoidea into six families:
* Family Epialti ...
start war. Meanwhile,
humpback whales
The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hump ...
, blue whales,
sunfish,
blue shark
The blue shark (''Prionace glauca''), also known as the great blue shark, is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, which inhabits deep waters in the world's temperate and tropical oceans. Averaging around and preferring co ...
s,
sperm whale
The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the sperm whale famil ...
s and
whale shark
The whale shark (''Rhincodon typus'') is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of .McClain CR, Balk MA, Benfield MC, Branch TA, Chen C, Cosgrove J, D ...
s migrate. Then a bunch of
spinner dolphin
The spinner dolphin (''Stenella longirostris'') is a small dolphin found in off-shore tropical waters around the world. It is famous for its acrobatic displays in which it rotates around its longitudinal axis as it leaps through the air. It is a ...
s,
yellowfin tuna
The yellowfin tuna (''Thunnus albacares'') is a species of tuna found in pelagic waters of tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide.
Yellowfin is often marketed as ahi, from the Hawaiian language, Hawaiian , a name also used there for the closel ...
, and
manta ray
Manta rays are large rays belonging to the genus ''Mobula'' (formerly its own genus ''Manta''). The larger species, '' M. birostris'', reaches in width, while the smaller, '' M. alfredi'', reaches . Both have triangular Pectoral fin#AnchPect ...
s swim for a long time. Far away, an
Asian sheepshead wrasse
The ''Asian sheepshead wrasse'' or ''Kobudai'', ''Semicossyphus reticulatus'', is one of the largest species of wrasse. Native to the western Pacific Ocean, it inhabits rocky reef areas around the Korean Peninsula, China, Japan, and the Ogasawara ...
is mating. Miles away, a
sea otter
The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the small ...
is smashing
clam
Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two she ...
s. In Alaska, the humpback whales have made it to the feeding grounds. The scene cuts to netted sea animals including tuna, whale sharks, sailfish, sea turtles, and sunfish. Along the way, a fishing boat has a hard time fighting the waves. Then a satellite shows the trash in the ocean. Underwater tons of trash is destroying a
fur seal
Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds belonging to the subfamily Arctocephalinae in the family '' Otariidae''. They are much more closely related to sea lions than true seals, and share with them external ears (pinnae), relatively lon ...
's home. The scene cuts to the 2 polar regions Arctic and Antarctica. Then, divers are discovering the ocean, and one of them swims with a great white shark. At the end, the narrator says we shouldn't ask what exactly is the ocean, we should ask what exactly are we.
Production
Filming
The documentary was produced in collaboration with scientists from the
Census of Marine Life
The Census of Marine Life was a 10-year, US $650 million scientific initiative, involving a global network of researchers in more than 80 nations, engaged to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life in the oceans. Th ...
and employed technologies including stabilized cameras for rough seas, an electric mini-helicopter to approach and film marine animals without noise, and submerged cameras both towed and on poles over the side of vessels, resulting in film of over 200 species at more than 50 global locations.
Music
Demi Lovato
Demetria Devonne Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992), known as Demi Lovato, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), Lovato rose to prominence for pl ...
and
Joe Jonas
Joseph Adam Jonas (born August 15, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He rose to fame as a member of the pop rock band the Jonas Brothers, alongside his brothers Kevin Jonas, Kevin and Nick Jonas, Nick. The group released their ...
recorded a special duet for Disney's North American release titled, "
Make a Wave
Disney's Friends for Change (also referred to as Friends for Change: Project Green) is a Prosocial behavior, pro-social "Environmentalism, green" initiative that started in the summer of 2009.
History
Disney stars stress environmental issues in ...
". The documentary was accompanied by a score composed by
Bruno Coulais
Bruno Coulais (born 13 January 1954) is a French composer, most widely known for his music on film soundtracks.
Life and career
Coulais was born in Paris; his father, Farth Coulais, is from Vendée, and his mother, Bernsy Coulais, was born in ...
, performed by the Paris Philharmonic Orchestra. The score features Coulais' trademark instrumentation and musical style, combining solo players, electronic enhancement effects and other unusual musical elements. Three themes are featured within the score, one of them adapted into a song entitled "Océan Will Be".
Reception
The film has received positive reviews from critics. At The review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the movie has received an 81% fresh rating from overall critics from 62 reviews.
Its consensus states "''Oceans'' adds another visually stunning chapter to the Disney Nature library."
Another review aggregator,
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a
weighted average
The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
from 0-100 of top reviews from mainstream critics, gave the film an average score of 79% based on 20 reviews. The world version of the film received much more praise than the US and Canada version.
The film opened briefly at #1, grossing $2,466,530 from 1,206 theaters on opening day; an excellent number in documentary standards, despite being far from the opening day total of its predecessor, ''
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
''. However, the film was overshadowed by its competition with ''
The Back-Up Plan
''The Back-up Plan'' (previously known as ''Plan B'') is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed by Alan Poul, starring Jennifer Lopez and Alex O'Loughlin.Siegel, Tatiana, and Michael Fleming"Jennifer Lopez going with 'Plan B': CBS Films s ...
'' and ''
The Losers'' as well as continued success from ''
How to Train Your Dragon
''How to Train Your Dragon'' (abbreviated ''HTTYD'') is an American media franchise from DreamWorks Animation and loosely based on the eponymous series of children's books by British author Cressida Cowell. It consists of three feature films: ' ...
'' and ''
Date Night
''Date Night'' is a 2010 American romantic comedy crime film directed by Shawn Levy and written by Josh Klausner.
Starring Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Taraji P. Henson, Common, and Mark Wahlberg, the film tells the story of a case of mistaken iden ...
''. The film grossed $6 million over the Friday-Sunday period, reaching eighth place at the box office, and taking somewhat less than ''Earth''s $8.8 million, but taking more than ''
March of the Penguins
''March of the Penguins'' ( French ''La Marche de l'empereur'' ; ) is a 2005 French feature-length nature documentary directed and co-written by Luc Jacquet, and co-produced by Bonne Pioche and the National Geographic Society. The documentary dep ...
''. It was the third highest-grossing opening for a documentary film. Despite grossing an additional $4 million over the week, the film collapsed 57% in its second weekend, a steeper drop than its predecessor, taking in $2.6 million from 1,210 theaters. The film earned an additional $2 million over the week and $1.6 million in its third weekend as well as expanding to 1,232 theaters and remaining in tenth place. The film was a disappointment at the United States box office as it closed on July 15, 2010 after only 85 days of release, earning $19,422,319 domestically. However, the film earned $63,229,120 overseas for a total of $82,651,439 worldwide.
The film was released by
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, an ...
on
Blu-ray Disc
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...
and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
on October 19, 2010.
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oceans
2009 films
2009 documentary films
Participant (company) films
Disneynature films
Pathé films
Documentary films about marine biology
Documentary films about nature
2000s French-language films
French documentary films
Films set in the Pacific Ocean
Films set in the Atlantic Ocean
French independent films
Oceans
Films scored by Bruno Coulais
2000s English-language films
2000s American films
2000s French films
Films directed by Jacques Perrin