Sea Lions of the Galapagos
Writers: David Fowler, Richard Wollocombe, Hugh Wilson, and Keith Scholey
Director: Keith Scholey and Hugh Wilson
Starring: Brendan Fraser
Publisher: Disneynature, Disney
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Non-Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars (8 Stars on IMDB)
Reviewed by AstilbeIn the heart of the Pacific Ocean lies a magical cluster of islands, home to a unique collection of castaways. Disneynature’s “Sea Lions of the Galapagos” dives underwater with Leo, a sea lion pup who’s learning how to navigate life.
Everyone deserves to find a place to belong, including sea lions.
I was impressed with how well this documentary balanced the many different audiences it was created for. Fraser explained even potentially scary scenes involving sharks chasing sea lions in such a calm and friendly tone of voice that I’d feel comfortable watching this with the little ones in my life. It isn’t always easy to find family-friendly stories that appeal to kids and adults of all ages and include extra information about the life of a sea lion for those who are old enough to read between the lines in certain shots, so it was wonderful to find something that can work nicely on so many different levels.
There were sections about Leo’s life as a young adult sea lion that I felt were a little slow, especially for any preschoolers or young children who might watch this. While the Galápagos Islands and ocean are beautiful, I would have gone for a full five-star rating if there had been a little more action about halfway through this film. With that being said, so much depends on the attention span of viewers and what they find most interesting in a documentary.
Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that showed a few games sea lions play together underwater. I didn’t know they were so playful with each other or that they used various things that can be found on the ocean floor in similar ways to how humans use toys. This was something I could have spent the full film time exploring!
Sea Lions of the Galapagos was a gentle and wholesome story for all age groups.
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