The Crimson Wing: Review

When I was a wee young lad, a trip to see the latest Disney would always include a second feature, or a supporting film. Usually along side the animations was a nature film, or as Disney called them, a True Life Adventure. This involved a smooth talking voice over, comic music and plenty of fun, watching animals falling over, playing and just enjoying themselves.

Disney returns to the nature fim with the first from it's new studio Disney Nature, with The Crimson Wing, the story of flamingos in Africa. However, gone is the comic music, the cute animals having fun. Instead we get, well, an extended nature programme for the big screen.

The setting is Lake Natron in Tanzania. A large salt-filled lake that one a year becomes the mating ground fof the flamingo...thousands of them. We see the mating rituals and the final birth of the babies, then we get to experience their struggles notonly with their own growth but the predators who find the chicks as easy pickings, particularly when their legs are covered with salt.

And that is basically it. Mariella Frostrup supplies the sultry narration, and the photography is beautiful, capturing the birds at their best (and sometimes their worse). Stirring music help tell the story and for 1hour and 15, we are literally transported to Africa and to become part of the flock. While all the elements are there, and you cannot deny this is a gorgeous looking film, it doesn't offer anything different than what you would see most night of the nature channels on TV.

The shocking thing is how death plays such an important part to this film. The cinema I saw this in was half full of young children, some who were getting quite upset whenever one of the cute little baby flamingos was attacked either by giant stork or hyenia. It happens quite a bit throughout, and even though it is part of nature's cycle of life, did it really have to be shown in such graphic detail?

If you love nature programmes then you will thoroughly enjoy this interesting film, but it really ins't anything to get too excited about. Maybe Disney need to go back and show us the funny side of nature, like they use to do so well.