Seal Island (film)
| Seal Island | |
|---|---|
 Film poster for Seal Island |
|
| Directed by | James Algar |
| Narrated by | Winston Hibler |
| Cinematography | Alfred Milotte |
| Editing by | Anthony Gerard |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
| Release date(s) | December 21, 1948 |
| Running time | 27 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $100,000 |
Seal Island is a 1948 short documentary film directed by James Algar. It won an Academy Award in 1949 for Best Short Subject (Two-Reel).[1]
Contents |
[edit] Cast
- Winston Hibler - Narrator
[edit] Production
In 1947, Walt Disney contracted Alfred and Elma Milotte to shoot documentary footage of the wildlife and culture of Alaska. Disney did not see the theatrical value in the footage of human activity in Alaska, but he was intrigued with footage that the Milottes shot of the seal population at the Pribilof Islands. Disney himself coined the title Seal Island for the film, and planned it as the first in a new series of nature documentaries called True-Life Adventures.[2]
The Milottes shot over 100,000 feet of film and spent over a year filming the seals. The total production cost Disney a little over $100,000.[3]
[edit] Release
RKO Radio Pictures, the studio distributing Disney’s films at the time, initially refused to release the half-hour Seal Island. Disney booked the film for its Los Angeles and New York theatrical engagements, and RKO agreed to release the film nationally only after it proved its commercial potential and received the Academy Award.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ "New York Times: Seal Island". NY Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/141404/Seal-Island/details. Retrieved 2008-05-18.
- ^ a b Bob Thomas (1976). Wal Disney: An American Original. Simon & Schuster/Pocket Books. pp. 213–4. ISBN 0671662325.
- ^ Neal Gabler (2007). Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination. Random House. pp. 444–5. ISBN 0679757473. http://books.google.com/books?id=41e-Ru0wRkEC&pg=PA446&dq=%22seal+island%22+disney&ei=O_7kSpazEoKCzgS2kKGTDA#v=onepage&q=%22seal%20island%22%20disney&f=false.
[edit] External links
- 1948 films
- American films
- English-language films
- Short documentary films
- American documentary films
- Live Action Short Film Academy Award winners
- Disney documentary films
- Films directed by James Algar
- 1940s documentary films
- 1940s short films
- Documentary films about nature
- Pribilof Islands
- Seals
- Films set in Alaska
- Films shot in Alaska
