Not all that long ago, I reviewed African Cats from DisneyNature. Around the same time that I watched that film on Blu-Ray, I also watched Crimson Wing.
Crimson Wing traces that fascinating story of the life cycle of the flamingo. In particular, the documentary follows the migration surrounding Lake Natron in Tanzania, Africa. It details the courtship of adult flamingos, the birth of their offspring, and many of the struggles which the birds must endure to sustain life in a rather hostile environment.
Unlike African Cats, this film didn’t have a stunning colour palette that really came to life on Blu-Ray. Instead, the most prominent colour spread was comprised of whites, greys, and some blues (not as much crimson as I would have thought). I don’t believe that this was the fault of a bad transfer to Blu-Ray, but rather, the somewhat washed look of the environment in which the film was shot. Coupled with the slightly disappointing visuals, the narrator had very little vocal and tonal fluctuation, which made the presentation a little dull and monotonous. Also, the balance between information delivery and entertainment was skewed toward the former. Not that facts are bad in a documentary, but it seemed to lack a lot of the charisma of other DisneyNature films. To make matters worse, I didn’t come away from this one knowing much more about flamingos than I did before I started watching.
Overall, though it wasn’t awful, it was certainly not my favourite of the DisneyNature series. However, it is still worth a watch, especially if you are a nature lover.
Cheers,
Zach