Seal Island (1948)
Seal Island is a 1948 American documentary film directed by James Algar. It won an Academy Award in 1949 for Best Short Subject (Two-Reel).
Rating: 6.7/10 by 8 users
Alternative Title:
Die Robbeninsel - DE
Country:
United States of America
Language:
Runtime: 00 hour 27 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0
Plot Keyword:
A look at the life of the fur seals on Seal Island (in the Aleutians) which co-inhabit the island with reindeer and scrawny looking foxes, lupins, lichens and other colourful plants that also thrive here in the lighter months. Bull seals (weighing almost as much as an horse... big horse, little horse?) arrive. Apparently seals have a common ancestor with a bear? Seals are polygamous and may have 100 wives... Yes, you get the drift. The narrative is very fact-based but despite trying to give some of the creatures human names and traits ("Mrs" etc.) is actually rather dry. The photography is quite innovative though, especially with the puffins and other seabirds. Then the female seals arrive and the bulls start to get a bit broody - the month of June, and hormones go a-raging. The score is quite jolly and carries the Hibler narration along for an entertaining half hour and the nimbler cows create quite a sense of fun on land and sea. Worth a watch, I think.
