Water Birds

1952 0h 30m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 18

DocumentaryFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Water Birds is a 1952 short documentary film directed by Ben Sharpsteen. The film delves into the still waters of lagoons and marshes to the wild blue wilderness of the vast oceans, to experience the beauty and variety of their majestic birds, each perfectly designed for its habitat. It won the Oscar for Best Short Subject, Two-Reel.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Disney PlusSubscription

Cast

Winston Hibler
Narrator

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ben Sharpsteen
Writers: Winston Hibler, Ted Sears, William Otis
Languages: English
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 30-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

74 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

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Norman R. Palmer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0045314 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 18 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ben Sharpsteen directs. Norman R. Palmer cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 30-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
274 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.
5Editor Norman R. Palmer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6IMDB entry: tt0045314 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 18 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
8Classified under 9 themes, including "nature", "pelican", "flamingo", "nature documentary".

The technical file

Editing: Norman R. Palmer
Runtime: 30 min · 0h 30m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Water Birds (1952)

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

Ben Sharpsteen

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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

Wallpaper

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-11-30
★ 6/10
With some help from Franz Liszt and a lively narration from Winston Hibler, this half hour feature takes us to an ornithologists paradise as we meet a myriad of bird life that live on or near the water. From the tiniest of term chicks, to black albatrosses, pelicans and precision-diving gannets the photography captures much of the vibrancy of their colours, acrobatics and courtship rituals as these often quite aerodynamically magnificent creatures somehow manage to haul themselves off the ground and get themselves airborne. I suppose my favourite from amongst this diverse range has to be the baby pelicans - anyone else think they reminded them of “Jar Jar Binks” only less ungainly and irritating as they half-waddled half-crawled towards the sea? I wonder how many human parents could pick up out their own offspring if it were left in amongst several thousands other screaming weans? These birds seem to be able to identify their own without any hesitation, and are also not so welcoming of any strays who encroach on what might pass for a nest, a burrow, a branch or just a hole in the sand. I would have preferred a little less scoring and more natural sound, but I suppose getting these colourful visuals was difficult enough without trying to mic things up too. It’s a pocket encyclopaedia of nature at it’s most creative, curious and passes half an hour quite entertainingly - unless you are a fish.

Production companies