Dolphin Reef (2020) – Blue (2018)

Directed by: Keith Scholey, Alastair Fothergill | 77 minutes | documentary, family | Original voice cast: Natalie Portman

On May 2, 2018, ‘Blue’ (aka ‘Dolphins’) appeared in Dutch cinemas. Nearly thirty thousand visitors saw this Disneynature production by the now legendary nature filmmaker Alastair Fothergill (“Planet Earth”) and Keith Scholey, but for whom the short period that the film was available in Dutch cinemas was not able to visit the film and so had to miss ‘Blue’, it remained impossible to watch the film for a long time. There was no home entertainment release and the film seemed to disappear a bit from Disney.

As it turns out: for some reason Disney was not happy with the final version and ‘Blue’ was re-edited and provided with a different voice-over. Initially it was intended that the new version of the film, now titled ‘Dolphin Reef’, would be available with the release of Disney + in the fall of 2019. That was not achieved, but a few months later it is. so far and ‘Dolphin Reef’ can be seen via Disney+.

Previously David Fowler (English version) and Jim van der Zee (Dutch version) could be heard, now we hear a very recognizable voice: that of Natalie Portman. Portman pleasantly tells how Echo (because that is the second change: the main dolphin is no longer called Blue, but Echo) grows up in the mysterious waters of the coral reef around Polynesia. In reality, it was filmed in ten different countries, such as the US, Mozambique, the Bahamas, Egypt and Australia. She also explains what a number of other inhabitants of the ocean have to contend with; such as humpback whale mother Mo’orea and humpback whale baby Fluke and Echo’s “neighbor” Mr. Mantis (a truly beautiful mantis shrimp).

However, most of the screen time in ‘Dolphin Reef’ goes to the bottlenose dolphin (or tursiops) Echo and his family. Not bad at all, it’s a joy to watch these tumbling, fun-loving mammals in action. It’s also educational: the inventive way in which the dolphins catch their prey (by creating a mud circle, from which a school of fish jumps in panic, straight into the mouth of the hungry dolphins) is fascinating. In addition, the curious dolphin takes us into a breathtaking world, where the colors splash off the screen. The structure of the coral, the bizarre shapes of some ocean dwellers and the hypnotic color-changing sepia latimanus; it is a sight to behold, especially given the phenomenal image quality.

‘Dolphin Reef’ is specifically intended as family entertainment; as a result, the devised story around Echo can feel a bit forced (such as the sequence in which Echo “rescues” his neighbor from an enemy), but fortunately this is kept to a minimum. In any case, the message that the underwater world of the coral reef owes its survival to an ingenious system that has always managed to keep things in balance is very impressive. It is a film in which science and entertainment merge. An ambitious project that fully lives up to the high expectations, especially in the visual field.