Whales: An Unforgettable Journey (1997) User Reviews

A wonderful, watery documentary

[bunnee-2 · 7/10 · 23 April 1999]

This beautifully shot documentary gives Imax viewers an idea of the how big these giants of the deep really are. There is rare footage of blue whales, along with few shots of killer whales and the smallest "toothed whales," aka dolphins and porpoises. The main part of the documentary follows the science ship Odyssey as she tracks two right whales, mother Misty and calf Echo, as they take the dangerous annual trek from Hawaii to their feeding grounds in Alaskan waters. The photography is breathtaking, with fascinating underwater shots and fantastic aerial footage. The scenes of whales feeding was really neat, and has to be seen to be appreciated. I went to see this film with about 300 elementary children, kindergarten through sixth grade. At times, you could hear a pin drop in the theater as all of the kids sat in rapt attention. "Whales" is a must see for anyone who loves whales, water or oceanography. Take the kids. Any movie that can keep that many school children quiet and well-behaved (without any threats or bribes) is well worth the price of admission!

Possibly best without the narration

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 5 October 2015]

"Whales: An Unforgettable Journey" is a 45-minute nature documentary on the animals mentioned about the title. Yes, whales are fast swimmer, but because of their huge size, this seems like a very slow movie. This is not a criticism, it's just how things are. However, this is also why it becomes a slow movie and a film like this needs a narrator who really nails his part and makes this an interesting experience that is worth the watch. In my opinion, Patrick Stewart ("Star Trek") did fine for the most part, but the women who narrated a lot as well, especially in the second half, had the talent to talk somebody to sleep. This, unfortunately, is the reason why I cannot give this little documentary more than ***/*****. In terms of the directors, writers and producers, pretty much everybody did a good job. I cannot say that there are many moments of true greatness, but it's a rock-solid watch from start to finish and you can see that Emmy winners were in charge here. Competent approach, but still I must say that this could have been easily a great film with some improvements in certain areas and not just the good one it turned out to become. Recommended.

Beautiful journey

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 28 November 2022]

'Whales: An Unforgettable Journey' immediately appealed first hearing about it. The subject sounded very interesting, have always adored whales of all kinds and have always found something new about them each time (with them being seen a lot in David Attenborough documentaries). Also like a lot of Patrick Stewart's voice and he has one of those can listen to for hours and one of those that can read the phone book and still captivate. There are some very good and more IMAX documentary films and short subjects.

While not one of my all time favourite documentaries or one that is ground breaking (naming them would be unfair though due to the approach being very different), 'Whales: An Unforgettable Journey' does a great job with its subject and location and of all the IMAX documentaries it's close to being one of the best and most educational if not quite making it. Stewart is well served though the narration doesn't always come off, through no fault of his own having said that.

It is with the women where 'Whales: An Unforgettable Journey' is less successful, didn't find their material as educational or entertaining and the momentum goes a little.

The only other issue is the length, a common weakness with the IMAX documentary short films. It is for my tastes too short and would have benefitted from being 10-15 minutes longer with more Stewart and even more and longer whale footage.

So much is wonderful however about 'Whales: An Unforgettable Journey'. It looks absolutely beautiful with some truly stunning shots and great expansive use of the varied location that is both beautiful and unforgiving. This is also one of the few IMAX nature documentaries seen recently where the IMAX actually doesn't look cheap, too gimmicky or/and too reliant upon. The whales are an absolute delight, very cute and majestic with a wide variety of personalities.

Furthermore, Stewart brings a lot of soothing gravitas to the narration, which is never cheesy or melodramatic and even with a familiar subject the information was still illuminating and never less than intriguing. Nothing is juvenile or over complicated. Personally had no problem with the music, which wasn't too much tonally or in placement and it didn't feel like it came out of something else entirely.

Concluding, very good indeed. 8/10.

Great Whale Footage

[nycruise-1 · 5 December 2006]

What a great special.

Shot under the best of circumstances.

Blue is now my favorite color.

All that underwater footage! What great work by those cameramen.

I'd like to know where I can get a copy of this special.

Haven't seen it in a while.

Is this out on DVD? I'd gladly purchase this! There are far too few shows like this.

This show displays a great understanding of these cetaceans.

And what's not to like about Hawaii?

Educational, but boring!

[Opie-7 · 1 July 2002]

This movie is good for its educational value, but it wasn't very entertaining. The movie, except for the intro with the whale jumping out of the water towards you, dragged on for the entire 40 minutes. Not even Sam Cardon's music made it any better. Unless you're very interested in whales, don't expect too much from this documentary.