The DisneyNature documentaries vary in quality, while not caring for 'Elephant' and 'Born in China' 'Earth' and 'Oceans' for instances are outstanding. Many people said that DisneyNature's first documentary was a must watch and being someone who likes flamingos a lot (some gorgeous ones at my local zoo) and wanted to know more about these too often under-explored animals there was no chance of missing 'The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingo'.
Found myself really impressed by 'The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingo' when watching it a few weeks ago. It may not be the best introduction to the DisneyNature documentaries for younger audiences, as by DisneyNature standards 'The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingo' is quite dark at times. To me, it is actually among the better DisneyNature documentaries, with it being one of the more informative, best narrated and best scored, even if other ones are even better visually.
It's not perfect, some of the final act drags and the content is a touch on the repetitive side at this point too.
However, 'The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingo' looks wonderful. The scenery is a wonder to look at and is also suitably unforgiving to show that flamingos still have difficulties adapting to their environments. The photography is even better, lots of vibrant colour and seeing them up close shows the flamingos' beauty even more while not being claustrophobic. As said, the music (a variable aspect in the DisneyNature documentaries) is beautifully scored and adds to the mood perfectly without spelling things out too much, one of the best of the lot. Beautifully performed too.
Narration came over as very engaging and informative, never childish, patronising or schmaltzy. Such a lot not known beforehand was learned, the only thing not so good about this aspect was moments of repetition in the last act. Mariella Frostrup narrates with warmth and a sincere quality, with clear interest in the material and the ability to respect the viewer.
Moreover, the flamingos are absolutely adorable, look amazing and so easy to root for. Their journey has some entertainment value and a huge amount of charm, but it is also incredibly moving and doesn't shy away from showing the difficulties they have to overcome. Some of which shocking and quite dark but not too disturbing for DisneyNature.
Concluding, very good. 8/10
