Sir David Attenborough’s Ocean Film to be Released on His 99th Birthday
Renowned naturalist Sir David Attenborough is set to release a landmark feature film, Ocean, on May 8, coinciding with his 99th birthday. The film, which will be available in cinemas before being streamed on Disney+ and Hulu later this year, takes viewers on a breathtaking journey around the world’s seas and oceans, highlighting their importance in preserving our planet.
According to The Independent, the film is presented in-person by Attenborough from various striking locations around the British Isles and features stunning shots of coral reefs, kelp forests, and the open ocean from around the world. As The Independent reports, Ocean is also a deeply personal film, with Attenborough describing how his lifetime has coincided with a "great age of ocean discovery".
In the film, Attenborough shares his insights on the importance of the ocean, stating, "After living for nearly 100 years on this planet – I now understand that the most important place on this planet is not on land, but on sea." He adds, "Through the course of my life we have been on a voyage of ocean discovery, and only now do we understand what it means for our world." The Independent quotes Attenborough as saying that the sea is not so different from the land, with underwater mountains stretching across the deep oceans that create vital currents supporting ecosystems.
Kelp forests and seagrass meadows are shown to operate similarly to the world’s terrestrial forests, and these ocean plant systems absorb more carbon dioxide than the world’s rainforests. Attenborough calls the ocean "our planet’s life support system – our greatest ally against climate catastrophe". However, he also warns that the world’s seas are "at a crossroads", with humanity "draining the life from our ocean".
The film features shocking images of trawler fishing, coral reef bleaching, and vast factory ships in the Antarctic that dredge up krill to make animal feed. The Independent reports that Attenborough describes how such factory ships are sometimes labelled "sustainable" – but in actual fact, scientists now know that their activities are risking the collapse of the entire Antarctic ecosystem.
Despite the dire warnings, the film has a message of hope, with filmmakers exploring inspirational stories from around the world to detail how strikingly the ocean can recover, even when it is thought all is lost. The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in Hawaii has provided a lifeline to endangered albatrosses, and a reserve in the French Mediterranean has shown how even the most overfished sea in the world can be restored to full health.
As The Independent notes, when Attenborough was younger, it was thought that the world’s whale population might never recover. But with new global agreements to protect the world’s largest ocean mammals, whale populations have recovered to a point not seen before in Attenborough’s lifetime. Attenborough says, "The ocean can recover faster than we can ever imagine: It can bounce back to life. We have been given a lifeline, it can thrive beyond anything anyone alive has ever seen."
The film’s release on May 8 has been timed to appear ahead of World Ocean Day on June 8, as well as June’s UN Ocean Conference 2025 in Nice, France, where it is hoped a new agreement can be reached to conserve and sustainably use the oceans. As reported by The Independent, this new film from Sir David Attenborough serves as a timely reminder of the importance of protecting our planet’s oceans and the impact that humans can have on these vital ecosystems.
