“„Oceans‟ allows the audience to be a part of marine life—to share all the emotions

    engendered by the exploration of the last great wild expanse: wonder, fear, calm, tenderness,

    violence, vitality, power. We took the time to allow the animals to invite us in.

    We waited to become a fish among fish.”

    ~ Jacques Cluzaud, Director

     Disneynature, the studio that presented the record-breaking film ―Earth,‖ brings

    ―Oceans‖ to the big screen on Earth Day, 2010. Nearly three-quarters of the Earth‘s

    surface is covered by water and ―Oceans‖ boldly chronicles the mysteries that lie beneath. Directors Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud dive deep into the very waters that sustain all of mankind—exploring the harsh reality and the amazing creatures that live within. Featuring spectacular never-before-seen imagery captured by the latest underwater technologies, ―Oceans‖ offers an unprecedented look beneath the sea.

    ―Oceans‖ puts audiences in the very heart of the action, racing along amid a school of travelling tuna, leaping with dolphins and swimming shoulder-to-fin with the great white shark. ―Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud have given us the pleasure of looking over their shoulders and doing what I have only dreamed of being able to do,‖ says Dr. Sylvia Earle, Explorer in Residence at the National Geographic Society. ―Watching this film, I felt as if I were in a school of fish, that I was a dolphin or a whale, swimming along with them. It takes me places I‘ve always wanted to go. This is beyond art. This captures the spirit, the very essence of the sea.‖

    Narrated by actor and active environmentalist Pierce Brosnan (―The Ghost

    Writer,‖ ―Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief,‖ ―Mamma Mia!‖),

    ―Oceans‖ also shines a light on the many threats, both natural and manmade, facing the

    oceans and their populations. The magic and the wonder of life at sea will be unveiled when ―Oceans‖ opens on April 22, 2010, the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

    ―Oceans‖ is the second film from Disneynature, the first new Disney-branded film label from Walt Disney Studios in more than 60 years. Disneynature brings the world‘s top nature filmmakers together to share a wide variety of wildlife subjects and stories with theatrical audiences. ―Earth,‖ the label‘s first release, broke records for both

    opening weekend and single-day box office for a nature documentary.

    The label carries on the work begun by Walt Disney, himself a pioneer in wildlife filmmaking who produced 13 True-Life Adventure motion pictures between 1949 and 1960, including ―Seal Island‖ (1949), ―Beaver Valley‖ (1950), ―The Living Desert‖ (1953) ?and ―Jungle Cat‖ (1958) and earning the studio eight Academy Awards.

    Rated G by the MPAA, ―Oceans‖ is a film by Jacques Perrin and Jacques

    Cluzaud, produced by Jacques Perrin and Nicolas Mauvernay. Executive producer is Jake Eberts and Disneynature executive producers are Don Hahn (―Earth,‖ ―The Lion

King,‖ ―Beauty and the Beast‖) and Kirk Wise (―Beauty and the Beast‖). The English-

    language narration was written by Michael Katims.

    ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

    ASTONISHING FOOTAGE REVEALS THE OCEAN AS NEVER BEFORE

    An Unknown World Surfaces During a Seven-Year Voyage

    “The secrets of the ocean have always fascinated explorers. Man first ventured into the sea gradually, unaware of its infinite richness and diversity. Over the centuries, there have been

    so many discoveries, but the sea is still an immense and wild territory.”

    ~ Jacques Perrin, Director

    Seven years ago, directors Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud embarked on a daring undersea venture. Their idea was simple, but seemingly impossible to realize: they would use their cameras to place audiences alongside the rare and magnificent creatures of the sea.

    The result is ―Oceans,‖ an epic journey around the globe that stars the fauna of

    the aquatic world in their element, from the notoriously shy humpback whales nursing their calves to the coral that lines the ocean floor and provides haven for some of the world‘s most elusive creatures. Traversing all five of the Earth‘s oceans over a period of four years, the filmmakers chronicled the exotic and the familiar in ways that will forever change viewers‘ perceptions of the underwater world.

    ―The secrets of the ocean have always fascinated explorers,‖ says Perrin. ―Man first ventured into the sea gradually, unaware of its infinite richness and diversity. Over the centuries, there have been so many discoveries, but the sea is still an immense and wild territory.‖

    More than 50 years ago, Jacques Cousteau and Louis Malle first brought the diversity and vulnerability of the ocean to the world‘s attention with the pioneering documentary ―Le Monde du silence.‖ With ―Oceans,‖ Perrin and Cluzaud go further than

    ever before to provide the most comprehensive look at marine life to date.

     ―In both of the films Jacques and I have made together, our goal was to experience the remaining wild parts of our planet,‖ says Perrin. ―We accompanied the birds flying above manmade borders, continental landscapes and oceanic spans in ‗Winged Migration.‘ In ‗Oceans,‘ we were able to do what no filmmaker or scientist had ever before done—to move on and under the sea at the speed of the marine life that crisscrosses the world‘s oceans, and experience life from their perspective.‖

     ―‗Oceans‘ is not an attempt to simply explain behavior or give information,‖ adds Cluzaud. ―We wanted to arouse strong feelings in the audience, so we asked ourselves

    where we could go in order to find something ‗new.‘ There was only one answer: in all

    possible directions. From accompanying marine life in its travels to finding new ways of lighting up the oceanic night, we broke down the boundaries that separated us from the animals being filmed and transformed each one into an individual.

    ―‘Oceans‘ allows the audience to be a part of marine life,‖ continues Cluzaud, ―to

    share all the emotions engendered by the exploration of the last great wild expanse: wonder, fear, calm, tenderness, violence, vitality, power and much more. We took the time to allow the animals to invite us in. We waited to become a fish among fish.‖

    This revolutionary approach and the dynamic nature of the subject matter required a complete rethinking of conventional moviemaking, says producer Nicolas

Mauvernay. ―How could we predict what we would be able to see? How could we set a

    pre-defined schedule that would encompass the storms we would search for in the four corners of the globe? We had all accepted that this would be a journey into the unknown, and that this film would lead us to a revelation. We came away with a renewed view and a new way of listening to the mysteries of the world.‖

    With input from experts from the Census of Marine Life, as well as fishermen, tanker captains, whale hunters, environmentalists, deep-sea divers, marine biologists and others, the pair brainstormed dozens of scenarios and made meticulous plans to capture as much of the emotional life of the sea as they possibly could.

    ―We depended upon people who spend their daily lives in the ocean,‖ says Cluzaud. ―They shared with us how they feel when they are deep in the ocean and we

    wrote an outline that incorporated all these emotions. We sought out certain species and behaviors that we knew would evoke these emotions and chose our locations with that in mind.‖

    The filmmakers devoted two full years to the preproduction process. That was followed by four years of shooting, with 75 excursions to dozens of the planet‘s most untouched spots. It took nearly another year of postproduction to winnow down the 480 hours of footage.

    After seven years in the making, ―Oceans‖ premiered in France in 2009 and almost immediately became one of the top-grossing nature films in the country‘s history.

    ―We were surprised most of all by the enthusiasm from young children,‖ says Perrin. ―They especially responded to the film‘s positive message that anything is possible if the right measures are taken in a timely way.‖

    For ―Oceans‘‖ North American debut, Perrin and Cluzaud have worked with Disneynature to fine-tune their film for a U.S. audience. ―Disney has an illustrious history

    as a leader in the field of nature films,‖ says Perrin. ―We want to sensitize people to the necessity of protecting our oceans.‖

    According to Disneynature executive producer Don Hahn, the essential spirit of the film remains the same, with minimal adjustments for language and culture. ―I came in and helped them craft the film for our audience, but the passion is theirs,‖ says Hahn, ?an Oscar-nominated producer whose credits include such Disney animated features as ―Beauty and the Beast‖ and ―The Lion King.‖ ―Every detail and scientific fact has been discussed and discussed. They didn‘t set out to create entertainment, although it is certainly that. They have presented the world with the truth about the state of the ocean today and how much it has changed in just one generation.‖

    Actor and environmentalist Pierce Brosnan was called on to narrate the English-language version. ―I read the script as if I were telling my sons a story of how beautiful the ocean is to me,‖ says Brosnan, who found many extraordinary moments in the film.

    ―There are so many to choose from in this feast of a movie—from the crabs off of

    Melbourne Bay gathering by the thousands to the feeding frenzy of birds and whales, dolphins and seals, to the magnificent stillness of a man and a great white shark, side by side as they swim along in complete harmony.‖

    The scope and power of the visuals in ―Oceans‖ set the film apart from any that have come before it. ―Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud have created a film that takes full advantage of the big screen,‖ says Hahn. ―There‘s a poetry to their filmmaking. They use gorgeous cinematography to put you right there with the animals. It‘s experiential; it‘s like going on a travel journey.

     ―Much like in ‗Earth,‘ we‘re taking people to a place they can‘t normally go,‖ Hahn continues. ―And we‘re taking them in grand style with the help of the best nature filmmakers around. Be prepared to see things you‘ve never seen before. There are

creatures so odd they could have been created by the art department on ‗Star Trek‘—

    but they‘re really out there.‖

    Working alongside Hahn, also as Disneynature executive producer, was Kirk Wise, the director of ―Beauty and the Beast‖ and ―The Hunchback of Notre Dame,‖ among other animated films. ―Oceans‖ is his first foray into the world of nature, but he points out that storytelling is at the heart of all filmmaking, whether it‘s actors in front of a camera, characters created with pencils and pixels, or animals in the wild. ―Even though the animals in this film don‘t talk, sing or wear pants, the stories of their lives are just as compelling as anything an animator could create. Actually, I take that back—

    humpback whales both talk and sing. But I‘m reasonably sure they don‘t wear pants.

    ―It‘s a truly epic film,‖ Wise continues. ―The directors put their cameras in places I‘ve never seen attempted before. They‘ve captured the speed, beauty and awe-

    inspiring scale of these creatures in such a way that demands to be seen on the big screen. It also makes you stop and think about our relationship with the ocean, and how we can be better stewards of this irreplaceable resource.‖

    By revealing the true nature of ocean creatures in their natural surroundings, ―Oceans‖ reminds viewers of the diversity and exuberance of life on the planet we call

    home. ―At the beginning of the film, a child asks, ‗What is the ocean?‘‖ Cluzaud says. ―In an attempt to answer that question, we have opened the doors of a fantastic and magical tale. We explore the marvels of the coral reefs, the heroism of dolphins and the graceful dance of the humpback whale. We also see the damage mankind has done to the ocean and its creatures. And we witness the incredible spectacle of the sea unleashed in a titanic storm.

    ―But for me, the look of the baby elephant seal in the final image before the

    credits roll says everything,‖ he adds. ―It returns us to ourselves and our own responsibility. It is very emotional, both to people already aware of the ocean as well as those who feel very disconnected from it.‖

    Says Brosnan: ―I hope ‗Oceans‘ will become a family favorite for many years to come and that, maybe, just a few or many, will be inspired to do good things…for our planet.‖

    A GLOBAL AQUATIC ADVENTURE FINDS BOUNDLESS LIFE AT SEA

    Diversity Survives in the World’s Unspoiled Sanctuaries

    For four years, ―Oceans‘‖ camera crews lived beside the creatures of the sea from the tiniest krill to the mightiest cetaceans—and everything in between. From pole

    to pole, multiple film crews sought out places where life continues as it has for thousands of years, as well as sites where the natural order has changed due to human encroachment.

     ―We found that in many places the sea life we were searching for no longer exists because of things like over-fishing, pollution and over-development,‖ says

    Cluzaud. ―But we also found sanctuaries scattered here and there where life can express itself naturally, and recover with tenacity and strength. These small, remote places give us the hope that they are not a reflection of past diversity, but the expression of life, always renewable, wild and free.

    ―Near Cocos Island off of Costa Rica, you only need to put your head under water to see fish of all sorts,‖ continues Cluzaud. ―There are a variety of sharks, as well as all types of rays and tortoises and sea mammals. In the northern Arctic, we went to the small island of Coburg, where even our Inuit guides had never set foot, and we saw seals, walruses and polar bears still at home by themselves. At the extreme west of the

    Galapagos Islands, which rarely sees more than one scientist in 20 years, eagles, sea iguanas, sea lions and cormorants fearlessly settled a few yards away to observe.‖

    Multiple crews traveled the globe as production manager Olli Barbé juggled time zones and seasons at the film‘s nerve center in Paris—Galatée Films French production

    studio. In some cases, crews returned to the same spots during the same season a year or more later to continue shooting. Perrin and Cluzaud accompanied crews to each location for the initial shoot to determine what kind of footage would be possible.

     ―Nature is neither controllable nor predictable,‖ says Cluzaud. ―Luckily, Jacques and I came to this without any idea of limits, including that of time. Time was the most precious element that Jacques Perrin gave us by carrying the production on his shoulders. It was absolutely necessary to film images that allowed us to edit a sequence as rich and dynamic as we would do in a feature film. We needed to be able to start over and over again, whatever problems we encountered.‖

    Their persistence was rewarded with visuals unlike any filmed before, including a unique shot of the blue whale, the largest creature ever known to have existed on Earth, feeding.

    ―The blue whale is an almost mythical animal—furtive, rapid, discreet,‖ says

    Perrin. ―And very, very big! It has almost never been filmed underwater and never, to our knowledge, while feeding. It took a great deal of time to successfully film the blue whale gulping down a cloud of krill.

    ―To be exact, it was 28 weeks of patience,‖ he says. ―Imagine 190 days of scrutinizing the sea, seeking krill schools and blue whales from sunrise to sunset. Thousands of failures yielded these extraordinary moments where we accompanied the whale into a cloud of krill. The success of the shots was thanks to the exceptional perseverance of American cameraman David Reichert.‖

    Few people on Earth are as familiar with the sea as Dr. Sylvia Earle, Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society and scientific advisor for Disneynature. Often called the Jane Goodall of the ocean, Earle has been studying marine life up close since the 1950s, but ―Oceans‖ was eye-opening even for this expert.

    ―I have had the joy of spending thousands of hours swimming with fish,‖ says Earle. ―The time I have spent in the sea has given me a different perspective. I try to get everybody I can to go diving, but as hard as I try, I know I‘m not going to get everybody to go jump in the ocean. The next best thing is to see ‗Oceans.‘ Even with all the diving

    that I‘ve done, I‘ve seen things in this film that I‘ve never seen in life.‖

    Earle has been diving in the Galapagos Islands since 1966, drawn by the wide variety of singular creatures that are native to the area, like the marine iguana. ―The

    marine iguana eats seaweed,‖ she says. ―It will dive down, holding its lizard breath, 30, 40, 50 feet beneath the surface to chomp on the seaweed. Well, to see it even once is a heart-stopping event. But to see it the way it‘s documented in ‗Oceans‘ is a miraculous achievement. You‘re right there with the animal. You‘re in the lizard‘s skin, chomping and crunching. You can almost taste the seaweed.‖ French cameraman René Heuzey shot the scene.

    Kirk Wise points to a larger-than-life mid-ocean jubilee involving scores of animals as a highlight of the film that most people will have no other opportunity to witness in a lifetime. ―There are hundreds of dolphins herding a huge school of herring into a giant ‗bait ball,‘‖ recounts Kirk Wise. ―Then what appears to be about a million sea birds dive-bomb into the ocean. For the grand finale, a gigantic fin whale surfaces and gulps down the entire school. It‘s epic in scale, exciting and clearly illustrates the amazing interconnectedness of nature.‖

    For Earle, the most unforgettable scene in the film is rare footage of a female walrus caring for her pup. ―When I think of a walrus, I think of tusks and an aggressive,

scary creature,‖ she admits. ―That image disappears when you see a mother walrus

    cuddling her newborn. I don‘t know how the cameraman snuggled in there and got those amazing images. It‘s a mother creature that weighs much more than a cameraman, with tusks, and bristles everywhere, and an attitude that says this is my baby, you better watch out. But somehow, it was communicated, ‗I‘m here because I care.‘

     ―That is the magic of this film,‖ she adds. ―It was made by caring people who want you to care. And you do. You share the spirit of the moment and of the ocean coming through a creature that most think of as a monster. This is a magnificent story, and you‘re there.‖

    The question Earle says she hears most often is, ―Why should we care about the ocean?‖ Her response? ―Well, would you like to breathe? Would you like to drink water? Do you like to live? The single non-negotiable thing that life requires is water. Ninety-seven percent of Earth‘s water is ocean. Every breath you take and every drop of water you drink are connected to the sea. It shapes planetary chemistry, drives the carbon cycle and the weather.

    ―When we damage the ocean, we have undermined our economy, health and security. We‘ve undermined the capacity of this planet to take care of us. If the oceans are in trouble, so are we.‖

    According to Earle, human beings have seen less than five percent of the ocean. ―We‘ve dangled nets and probes and dragged the ocean floor. We‘ve looked from high in the sky. We know what the surface looks like in pretty good detail. But ten feet under the ocean, most of it is still unexplored. Go a hundred feet, a thousand feet, ten thousand feet, it‘s a never-never land. I have a friend who dives deep looking for fish. He finds as many as 30 new species an hour.‖ The tragedy, she says, is that we‘re losing species at a much faster rate than we‘re finding them.

    ―What else is out there that we don‘t know about? What we do know is that the ocean is absolutely necessary, vital for our survival and our well-being. Take care of the ocean, you‘re taking care of us. Destroy the ocean, harm the ocean, you‘re undermining

    the integrity of the planet itself.‖

    Perrin considers ―Oceans‖ a ―wildlife opera—it is a hymn to the sea and the

    species concealed within it,‖ he explains. ―Each underwater director of photography and each cameraman provided fragments of a score that we orchestrated. We wanted to convey all the majesty of untamed wildlife through the magic of the big screen and create an emotional connection between subject and viewer.‖

    FILMMAKERS TURN TO INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY

    Pioneering Spirit Creates New Tools to Acquire New Imagery

    “The best way to observe a fish is to become a fish.”

    ~ Jacques Yves Cousteau

    Perrin and Cluzaud set out to achieve famed oceanographer Jacques Yves Cousteau‘s ideal of ―becoming the fish,‖ going beyond mere spectacle and immersing

    the audience in a strange new world. The filmmakers‘ ambitious demands necessitated finding methods that would allow them to break down the barriers between audience and subject to foster a strong emotional connection. Ironically, their artistic goals would lead them to develop groundbreaking new technologies for use both underwater and at the surface.

    After consulting with specialists in the animal world, as well as pioneers in aquatic cinematography, Perrin and Cluzaud worked with an armada of experts to

    develop or modify innovative technologies that achieved the cinematic quality and maneuverability required to realize their vision.

    Equipping camera operators with rebreathers made it possible to approach even the shyest sea creatures with minimal disruption. Developed for military use, rebreathers recycle exhaled air, eliminating the trail of bubbles left by conventional scuba gear.

    ―One of the other challenges was how to film the animals close up without disturbing their natural behavior,‖ says Don Hahn, executive producer for Disneynature.

    ―The idea was to go in and leave as small a footprint as possible.‖

    To capture the feeling of swimming alongside a school of tuna, cameras were mounted in ―torpedoes‖ drawn by boats. Known as ―Jonas,‖ the torpedo housed a

    camera lens and sensor in its nosecone. It could be towed behind a boat by a fiber-optic cable and ―swim‖ along with schools of dolphins or fish traveling at full speed. ―The challenge was getting stable high-quality imagery at high speeds, not mediocre footage,‖ says Perrin. ―It took two years of hydrodynamic calculations and trial and error to create.‖

    Thetys, a unique device designed and built by engineers Jacques-Fernand Perrin and Alexander Bügel, allowed the camera operators to maintain a level horizon as the boats carrying them raced through the waves.

    Filmmakers also used a camera that fixed onto a pole and tied along the vessel‘s hull to film lateral traveling shots. In one exhilarating sequence, the camera slides along the water at top speed, in the midst of a pod of leaping spinner dolphins.

    In addition to the conventional helicopters used for aerial and storm shots, the filmmakers brought in a tiny, remote-controlled helicopter nicknamed ―Birdyfly.‖ Outfitted with a wide-angle lens, Birdyfly was nimble and quiet enough to discreetly film the most skittish whales without alarming them. A marine scooter served the same purpose in underwater settings. A custom-made ―mid-air/mid-water‖ machine filmed both above

    and below the surface, making it ideal for following a seal swimming with its head above water.

    The filmmakers leveraged the differing strengths of both 35mm film and digital cameras. Film provided more nuanced visuals, but digital storage technology afforded them more time underwater: 48 minutes as opposed to a maximum of six minutes with film. They elected to use digital cameras for the underwater shoots, and had watertight, hydrodynamic boxes custom-built to protect them. Created by the Swiss company Subspace Technology, the housings have now become the standard for underwater photography. External and aerial shots used conventional 35mm film.

     A soundtrack for the ocean was built layer upon layer, including bird calls, whale songs and the violent thrashing of an ocean storm, as well as underwater sounds. ―The

    more oceanographers research the ocean, the more they understand how much communication is going on,‖ says Hahn. ―That becomes especially true with mammals. We worked with Skywalker Ranch on the sound design to make it as scientifically accurate as possible, so the audience is experiencing what we believe dolphins and killer whales do to communicate with each other.‖

     ―Oceans,‖ which began a grand and improbable dream for its creators, has become a startlingly immediate and intimate reality for audiences. ―Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud have used new technologies like high definition and new camera techniques to zero right in to see what the fish see,‖ says consultant Sylvia Earle. ―They‘ve adapted the cutting edge of the cutting edge and made it work. I have worked

    with technology, with submarines, with cameras and cameramen. It‘s a tricky business and these are absolutely the best. I‘m just grateful for the talented individuals who have

the capacity, the patience and the love to do what it takes to put themselves—and us—

    into the ocean.‖

    EVOCATIVE SCORE ADDS TO OCEAN’S EMOTIONAL UNDERCURRENT

    Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato Leave Audiences

    with an Inspirational Message

     ―Oceans‘‖ musical score was written by award-winning French composer Bruno

    Coulais, who previously collaborated with Perrin and Cluzaud on the Oscar-nominated 2001 nature film ―Winged Migration.‖

     Coulais says he wanted the music to provide an emotional commentary on the astounding action unfolding on screen. ―The challenge was to avoid making the music

    too illustrative. I believe that to make people aware of important causes regarding the environment, it‘s essential to reach them emotionally first.‖

     Through his score, the composer says he tried to convey a feeling of the ocean‘s

    unimaginable immensity but also of a magical and fragile world that could all too easily disappear. ―I wanted the music to evoke a kind of nostalgic feeling, like a distant dream. That‘s an idea that was suggested to me by the strangeness and splendor of the

    images.‖

     On a more pragmatic note, Coulais says he wanted the music to serve as a unifying element for the film‘s diverse seascapes. To that end, he used a theme and variations approach to the composition, with the film‘s central motif returning in different

    forms throughout the film.

     Perrin and Cluzaud requested a predominantly orchestral score, so Coulais decided to compose what he describes as ―a long concerto for violin and harp.‖ For the lead parts he brought in two renowned instrumentalists, violinist Laurent Korcia and harpist Marielle Nordmann.

     ―The soloists bring a kind of dreamy quality to the ensemble but also act as surrogates for the viewer,‖ says Coulais, ―reminding us of our responsibility to take care

    of our planet. Meanwhile, the orchestra provides breath, power and energy to the images. I also added some synthetic elements for some of the stranger sequences.‖

     As the film ends, audiences are left with an inspirational message, courtesy of Hollywood Records recording artists Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato. Over the end credits, the pair team up on the original song ―Make a Wave.‖

     The rousing duet was recorded for Disney's Friends for Change: Project Green. The song‘s lyrics ―just a pebble in the water can set the sea in motion, a simple act of kindness can stir the deepest ocean,‖ reflect the primary message of Friends for

    Change: when people work together, small steps can make a big difference. All proceeds from purchases of the song via iTunes will benefit environmental charities through the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund.

    ABOUT THE CAST

    In order of appearance:

    Marine iguana Krill Giant moray

    Horseshoe crab Redfooted bobby Diagonal-banded sweetlips

    Leatherback turtle Great frigatebird Banded sea krait

    Coral eggs Long-spinned sea urchin Broadclub cuttlefish

    Sea urchin larvae Sleepy sponge crab Garden eel

    Moon jellyfish Anemone hermit crab Razorfish

    Sea nettle jellyfish Palette surgeonfish Spider crab

    Spinner dolphin Parrotfish Sunfish

    Cape gannet Starfish Blue shark

    Long-beaked common dolphin White-eyed moray Spermwhale

    Sardines Zebra shark hatching Whale shark

    Copper shark Lionfish Yellowfin tuna

    Mackerel Craifish Asian sheepshead wrasse

    Bryde‘s whale Scarlet hermit crab Elephant fish

    Lesser devil ray Octopus Leafy seadragon

    Blanket octopus Mantis shrimp Giant cuttlefish

    Bigeye trevally Spanish dancer Sea otter

    Horse mackerel ball Dugong Bluefin tuna

    Californian sea lion Green turtle Swordfish

    Humpback whale Sailfish Leopard seal

    Brown pelican Anemonefish Emperor penguin

    Galapagos fur seal Porcupine fish Adelie penguin

    Razoe surgeonfish yellowtail Butterflyfish Weddell seal

    Flightless cormorant Leaf scorpionfish Polar bear

    Porcupine fish Slingjaw wrasse Narwhal

    Sally lightfoot crab Oriental flying gurnard Beluga

    South African fur seal Stonefish Walrus

    Great white shark Angel fish Nomura‘s jellyfish

    Killer whale Silvertip shark Altantic spotted dolphin

    South American sea lion Scalloped hammerhead shark Shearwater

    Blue whale Potato cod Northern elephant seal

     Cleaner wrasse

    ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

    JACQUES PERRIN (Director/Producer/Screenplay), a devotee of the

    theater and movies since childhood, began his career in 1960 as an actor and worked with some of the top actors and directors in France and Italy. He obtained the Volpi Cup for Best Actor in 1966. In 1968, a 27-year-old Perrin earned an Academy Award? as producer of Costa Gavras‘ classic ―Z‖ and also appeared in the film. Since then, Perrin has made more than 80 motion pictures, including Jean-Jacques Annaud‘s ―Black and White in Color‖ which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1977.

     More recently, Perrin has helped audiences make fascinating discoveries in the animal kingdom as director or producer of such acclaimed documentaries as ―Microcosmos‖ and ―Winged Migration,‖ the latter film an Academy Award nominee.

    Never turning away from the narrative feature, Perrin produced two Oscar? nominees for Best Foreign Film, Eric Valli‘s ―Himalaya‖ and Christophe Barratier‘s

    ―The Chorus.‖ He also produced Barratier‘s subsequent drama, ―Paris 36,‖ and the documentary ―Tabarly,‖ about the life of the famed French sailor.

    JACQUES CLUZAUD (Director/Screenplay) co-directed the Oscar?-

    nominated documentary ―Winged Migration‖ and helmed the three-part series for

    French television, ―Les Ailes de la Nature.‖ He also co-directed an exclusive IMAX?

    film for the French theme park Futuroscope, ―Travelers by Air and by Sea.‖

    Jacques Cluzaud was nominated to the Cesar Awards for his short film ―Joseph M.‖ Cluzaud got his start as first assistant director on such films as ―Indochine,‖ starring Catherine Deneuve, an Oscar? winner for Best Foreign Film, and an Independent Spirit Award nominee, ―Lumumba.‖

    NICOLAS MAUVERNAY (Producer) joined filmmaker Jacques Perrin in 1999

    at his production company Galatée Films, participating in the production of the Best Foreign Film nominee ―Himalaya,‖ directed by Eric Valli, and ―Winged Migration,‖ directed by Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud and Michel Debats.

    Appointed Managing Director of Galatée Films in 2001, Mauvernay produced several films with Jacques Perrin: ―11‘09‘‘01 – September 11,‖ an omnibus film

    directed by Sean Penn, Ken Loach, Mira Nair and others; ―Travelers by Air and by

    Sea,‖ an IMAX? film directed by Perrin and Cluzaud; ―The Chorus‖ and ―Paris 36,‖

    two Best Foreign Film nominees directed by Christophe Barratier; and ―Restless,‖

    directed by Laurent Perreau.

    Born in 1972, Mauvernay graduated from the Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC) business school in 1995 and from the Sight and Sound Fundamentals program of NYU‘s Tisch School of the Arts in 2000.

    ROMAIN LE GRAND (Producer) graduated from the Hautes Études

    Commerciales (HEC) business school in 1995. Le Grand began his career in 1995 as a financial analyst for Walt Disney. He joined Pathé (France) in 1997 as head of special projects. In 2001, he was appointed director of production for Pathé, supervising the production of such films as ―The Nest,‖ ―Le Coût de la Vie,‖ ―The Chorus‖ and ―Odette Toulemonde.‖

    Le Grand was appointed deputy managing director of production at Pathé in 2007. Since then, he has overseen the production of the following films: ―Mes Amis mes Amours,‖ ―Safari,‖ ―Incognito,‖ ―French Kiss,‖ ―Tout ce qui Brille‖ and ―L‘Italien.‖

    For Pathé, Le Grand was also the producer of the following films: Eric Rohmer‘s ―The Lady and the Duke,‖ Franck Mancuso‘s ―Contre-Enquête,‖ ―Jacquou le Croquant,‖

    Christophe Barratier‘s ―Paris 36‖ and Lisa Azuelos‘ ―LOL (Laughing Out Loud).‖ Together, these films garnered numerous César nominations as well as three Oscar? nominations.

    Le Grand is currently producing Kad Mérad‘s ―Monsieur Papa‖ and serving as executive producer on ―Titeuf‖ and Alain Chabat‘s ―Le Marsupilami‖ as well as the U.S. remake of ―LOL (Laughing Out Loud),‖ also directed by Lisa Azuelos and starring Miley Cyrus and Demi Moore.

    JAKE EBERTS (Executive Producer) was educated at McGill University

    (B. Chem. Eng. 1962) and Harvard University (MBA, 1966). After a career as an engineer, diesel-engine salesman and investment banker, in 1977 he entered the film business. Since then he has financed or produced more than 50 films, including ―Chariots of Fire,‖ ―Gandhi,‖ ―The Killing Fields,‖ ―Hope and Glory,‖ ―Driving Miss Daisy,‖

    ―Dances with Wolves,‖ ―Black Robe,‖ ―A River Runs Through It,‖ ―Chicken Run,‖

    ―Prisoner of Paradise‖ and ―Journey to Mecca.‖ These films received 65 Oscar?