The Voyage of the Mimi

This program was clearly intended for educating a young (in years) audience, not a mentally immature adult. With that in mind you should have no hesitation in watching this program with your children. My children enjoyed every episode, in spite of the less-than-quality acting. The main thrill for them (and for me) came from watching the interactions between the human researchers and the whales, which were the main research target of the Mimi scientists. A subtle, but perhaps even more important aspect of the series is the message that the discovery of our world, driven by the methods of science, can accomodate anyone, regardless of race or sex. The main requirements for such discovery are curiosity about the natural world, the courage to seek adventure, and intelligence to solve problems. If you emphasize these concepts to your children, you will have directed them along the path that the series obviously intended.

Unlike many of the commentators who've put their two cents in on this show, I didn't become acquainted with "The Voyage of the Mimi" because of it being shown in any of my classes. Instead, I got to watch it because I was a PBS fanatic when I was a little kid and this was one of the shows that aired during the "children's block" of the decade I was a little kid, i.e. the '80s.

My recollections of the show were as follows: little boy gets invited to take part in a sea voyage led by the boy's captain grandfather. Said voyage, including in it several people who looked to be of high school or college age, takes a long while. Voyage takes detours along the way to explore various places relating to sea life and sailing/yachting. The little boy, who was played by a very young Ben Affleck, sticks out in my mind the most because of the fact that I (quite embarrassingly) had wanted to be *friends* with his little boy character when I was a little girl. Ah, what simple and innocent memories.

In terms of the quality of the show -- well, it certainly wasn't going to have great acting or brilliant scripts, but then again its target audience (little children) wasn't going to demand that either. I found myself quite enraptured of that program when I was young because it taught me things while involving me in a story and because I was a PBS nut anyway. "The Voyage of the Mimi" certainly shouldn't be considered prime material for showing to eighth graders -- younger children such as second or third graders would probably be the better viewing audience. It's simple, it's fun, and heck, if your little girl only dreams of being *friends* with a young Ben Affleck, that should be better, right?

This movie is a total classic. Few other movies combine education, entertainment, dramatic tension, and wonderful highs as well as this work.

Many will want to watch this movie because it stars a young Ben Affleck (that is, until they see Gigli, so I understand). And Ben is terrific as the young CT Granville. When he's searching around the boat for his Grandfather ("Granpa") we feel his angst. However, the most memorable characters are Artie, the "urban" (re: Black) computer expert, and Rachel, the troubled teen. They are the definite stars, along with the deaf girl who eats a lot of peanut butter.

This movie is educational in both its deep exploration of the topic of marine biology, and also as a piece of social commentary. Take for example the scene when Artie is saying good-bye to his family. Artie leaves without his behemothic boom box because he arrives an hour late, (Artie being an hour late is an obvious allusion to the racial tensions of the Reagan era), a scene that is clearly a metaphor for African American youth abandoning their cultural heritage in order to pursue their professional ambitions. However, Artie's little brother, the symbol of his enlightened new generation, portrayed by a young Denzel Washington look-alike, rejects Artie's Faustian choice and exclaims "Hey Artie, you forgot your radio!" Artie returns to the car, grabs his radio/soul, and then is off to adventure on the high seas.

This movie is very hard to find, so I am not very comfortable recommending it to others. Perhaps it may be found in your local library or elementary school. If you can find it, watch at least the first episode, as it worthwhile to see a young Ben Affleck and know that 20 years later, that little kid is getting it on with J.Lo.

I read the other comment on this series, and am appalled at the comments made by that person. This is an excellent series on geography and is designed to be used as a visual aid in geography classes. Yes, the getting lost part is funny, but that is a tongue in cheek type of thing. I enjoyed it and I'm not a kid. Ben Affleck went on to become famous, of course, so perhaps the person who reviewed this did not like Mr. Affleck. In any case, it is very good for its type, and well worth watching. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to use visual aids in their teaching of geography or social science classes. You might just want to watch it to see Ben Affleck as a kid. :)

First saw the program on PBS. As a teacher I recognized the motivational value as a classroom tool. Consequently while looking thru a closet in our defunct computer classroom I found the materials for the first voyage. I then proceeded to find a classroom teacher willing to work with me on using the program. (I was the Reading Specialist.) Since that time I have used both the first and second voyages in several classrooms and returned to a classroom of my own in order to continue using the programs. I have added the novel Treasure Island as a literature component. Currently I am seeking a way to update the info taught thru each of the voyages and to expand the cross-curricular activities used by my students. Although 20 years old I still find the story lines engaging on many levels and suggest either program appropriate for an inclusion classroom.