Have mostly gotten a lot out of the behind the scenes documentaries of the DisneyNature features. In all cases too, to me all of the behind the scenes documentaries are superior to the actual features. Especially the ones exploring the behind the scenes of 'Born in China', didn't like that but really liked the behind the scenes documentaries. Was looking forward to seeing 'Diving With Dolphins', depicting the behind the scenes of 'Dolphin Reef'.
And thankfully was not disappointed. 'Dolphin Reef' is by far one of the best DisneyNature documentary features, being somebody who liked most of them while having serious reservations (the narration being the common one) whereas 'Dolphin Reef' left me close to loving it. 'Diving With Dolphins' amazingly manages to be even better. The target audience is definitely more adult or older viewers here, which actually was not an issue for me as that is the case for most of the behind the scenes documentaries. Though it is not inaccessible for younger viewers by all means.
'Diving With Dolphins' is every bit as visually beautiful as 'Dolphin Reef'. Underwater always looks striking in nature documentaries and the vivid colours and haunting atmosphere are definitely that. That is enhanced by photography that is both exquisite and uncompromising, as well as stylish. Cannot believe that the filming dolphins in waves sequence was captured on film in particular. The music isn't overbearing or overused, only used when needed.
Furthermore, 'Diving With Dolphins' is very maturely narrated (even more so than 'Dolphin Reef', which was one of the few DisneyNature features where the narration wasn't a problem), and the writing itself is sincere and thought-provoking. It was very educational for all ages and found myself learning a lot. The dolphins do look amazing, as do the other marine animals, and it reinforces my feelings of wanting to see them more in documentaries as they are beautiful and fascinating animals. The way they behave is unexpected and interesting too.
Standout sequences here are the filming the dolphins in the waves and the jaw-droppingly tense scene in the turtle cave. 'Diving With Dolphins' does have a good balance of animal footage and scenes with the crew, would have liked even more animal footage and even more variety in the way they behaved because what was here was so amazing. The crew scenes were truly inspiring and it was impossible to not admire their bravery in at times such difficult situations, they joke around and are supportive but like the animals they have challenges of their own and their resilience in how they deal with those challenges was inspirational.
In conclusion, great. 9/10.
