“Oceans” was pretty good. Not great. Not bad. Just pretty good, which is why I think the box office numbers have paled in comparison to Disneynature’s first feature film “Earth.”
“Earth” started off with a bang, grossing just over $4 million on its first day. It opened in the number 5 spot for the weekend, with a three-day total of $8.8 million. On the flip side, “Oceans” took in less than $2.5 its first day and $6.06 million it’s opening weekend, for the number 8 spot on a very week overall box office weekend.
Why the disparity? First, “Earth” came in with a lot of momentum. It was the offshoot of an extremely successful television documentary series “Planet Earth.” Plus, it was the very first Disneynature release, with lots of buzz and anticipation.
But “Earth” had something that “Oceans” severely lacked, leaving me to fidget and yawn half way into the feature. It had no story! A film is lost without a story, whether be a Pixar feature, an animated classic or a documentary film. If there is no story, it’s just another Discovery channel special or IMAX film you see at a museum of natural history.
While the stories of “Earth” were fragmented, they were still compelling. Will the elephant rejoin the herd? What about the polar bears?
And frankly, I didn’t like the forced nature of the staged beginning and ending of the film, with one of the director’s sons standing on the edge of a beach gazing out into the ocean blue. I felt this is where they were going for with a story, but it simply wasn’t engaging.
It was cool to see animals I certainly never caught a glimpse before in other documentaries. There are some crazy looking creatures down there!!
Yet, I kept wondering that the movie would be more engaging in 3-D. Why not? Imagine the jellyfish swimming around you, like you truly were immersed in the ocean. I hope Hollywood doesn’t keep technology in the realm of action and animated features.
“Earth” went on to make $106 million at the box office, an incredible feat for a documentary film. “Oceans” will be lucky to get half of that, which wouldn’t even cover production costs.
Let’s call this Disneynature’s sophomore slump. But I do have high hopes for next year’s feature, “African Cats.” The movie will follow the story of three mothers —a lioness, a leopard and a cheetah — as they fend for their families in the wild of Africa. I think that has the makings of a better story than “Earth.”
Disneynature sponsors the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival. Fingers crossed that they find a way to bring the studios’ name to the Disneyland Resort. Of course, there would be no better place than Adventureland, which was inspired by Disney nature’s predecessors, True-Life Adventures.
What did you think of “Oceans?” Are you glad Disneynature is pumping out films in full effect? Leave comments below and be sure to vote in the poll too!
So that’s a wrap for now!
