There’s nothing quite like a deep sea documentary to bring you a profound sense of peace. From the team behind the excellent series Our Great National Parks comes Our Oceans, five episodes of stunning cinematography exploring the animals that dwell in and around the world’s seas. President Barack Obama returns to narrate once more, bringing his gravitas to tell the stories of these creatures great and small who rely on the oceans across the world to live in harmony. All set to a playful score that turns their everyday lives into amusing vignettes.
From polar bears navigating an ever-shrinking snowscape, to narwhals using their formidable tusks to hunt in ways we’ve never seen before, to an octopus with incredible aim, the series tackles a different ocean and its inhabitants in each episode. It takes us to the beaches and islands as well as beneath the waves to showcase all the life held within. What a joy it is to see a puffin bobbing about on the island breeze while he waits for his mate; oh, how you’ll giggle at the annoying walrus siblings vying for their mama’s attention. The eternal battle between seal and orca wages on, while some fish schools find ingenious ways of surviving and adapting to the changing seascape.
Because the climate crisis is affecting every part of our world and Our Oceans refuses to brush over it. In between the whimsical narration about the circle of life, Obama highlights the terrible effects of rising ocean temperatures and how natural devastation is pushing the world and its inhabitants to the limit. For many of these creatures, the climate crisis threatens their very survival; here, we connect to the fallout.
Our Oceans is a gentle documentary to watch with the whole family; it shows the circle of life in a palatable yet not overly sanitized way. And its message about protecting the planet is there throughout but never feels like too much. Instead, beautiful visuals lead the way, while the informational gems are wrapped up in quirky anthropomorphic descriptions. All designed to connect us to these stunning creatures we share the world with.
