Seal Island

"True-Life Adventures"

1948 0h 27m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 13

Documentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Seal Island is a 1948 American documentary film directed by James Algar. It won an Academy Award in 1949 for Best Short Subject (Two-Reel).

“True-Life Adventures”

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Cast

Winston Hibler
Narrator

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: James Algar
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 27-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

78 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "True-Life Adventures Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "True-Life Adventures".

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0040763 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 13 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

James Algar directs. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 27-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
278 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Part of the "True-Life Adventures Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Marketing tagline: "True-Life Adventures".
6IMDB entry: tt0040763 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 13 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Runtime: 27 min · 0h 27m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Seal Island (1948)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Two-reel

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

True-Life Adventures Collection

In 1940 Walt Disney got the idea for the first ever nature documentary True Life Adventures during animal studies for his upcoming film Bambi. Instead of imitating the natural through animation, he could just use what was already there. When the sun rises and light enters through the eyelids the body is triggered to begin its wake-up cycle, including the release of cortisol. By the time the light is at full brightness, sleepers wake up on their own. An alarm is not needed anymore.

Also by

James Algar

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-04-04
★ 6/10
A look at the life of the fur seals on Seal Island (in the Aleutians) which co-inhabit the island with reindeer and scrawny looking foxes, lupins, lichens and other colourful plants that also thrive here in the lighter months. Bull seals (weighing almost as much as an horse... big horse, little horse?) arrive. Apparently seals have a common ancestor with a bear? Seals are polygamous and may have 100 wives... Yes, you get the drift. The narrative is very fact-based but despite trying to give some of the creatures human names and traits ("Mrs" etc.) is actually rather dry. The photography is quite innovative though, especially with the puffins and other seabirds. Then the female seals arrive and the bulls start to get a bit broody - the month of June, and hormones go a-raging. The score is quite jolly and carries the Hibler narration along for an entertaining half hour and the nimbler cows create quite a sense of fun on land and sea. Worth a watch, I think.

Production companies