Explore the Wildlife Kingdom: Dolphins - Tribes of the Sea

This is hands down the best DVD about dolphins I have seen. Grant Goodeve is a great narrator, and the information about dolphins you will get here is timely, in-depth, and well written. The only flaw, in my opinion, is a cute narrator goof in pronunciation at one point. I won't give it away, you have to find it for yourself. It is the only mistake I have ever heard Goodeve make in the huge amount of narration I have heard him do.

The video footage, while not the eye-popping stuff of Imax 70mm film, is still very, very good, and there is much more of it than on the Imax DVD, "Dolphins." (However, if you prefer your female dolphin researchers in a skimpy two-piece swim suit instead of a wetsuit, go for the shorter Imax DVD.) In fact, in some ways the footage on this DVD is better at showing the dolphins behavior in the wild, and the narration is less encumbered by the annoying academic patter that drones on about "trying to understand these seemingly intelligent animals," when their behavior is fairly obvious if you are actually trying to see them as real, intelligent beings. Scientist are actually deeply hindered by the blinders of their paradigms, and usually the last folks on the block to "get it."

To understand one of the differences between this DVD and the Imax DVD, where the Imax DVD shows a little of the dolphin language project in Hawaii, it seems to concentrate more on how the people feel about the research, and how excited the female researcher (having exchanged the skimpy red swim suit for regular clothes) is to get a hug and a kiss from a dolphin (she had never touched a dolphin in all her years of research).

On this DVD, in contrast, we are treated to a detailed example of the language experiments where it is clearly shown (not just suggested) exactly how brilliant dolphins are at language and cognition. Same location, much more information and lots more footage. It is a vastly more satisfying treatment of the topic. There is much more concentration on the dolphins than on the researchers in this DVD, and I like that.

The segment showing the dolphins creating spontaneous displays together will stun you right to the core. It shows such obvious and powerful intelligence that you will come away from this DVD wanting to back John Lilly's idea that dolphins (cetaceans in general, actually) should have representation at the U.N. It is very, very powerful, particularly if you have any knowledge at all about cognition and language in humans. It leaves no possible doubt as to their intelligence and communication abilities (which very probably greatly exceed our own).

Now, while I have needled the Imax folks a bit, I do put their DVD in second place just behind this one, and I absolutely recommend it also. These two DVDs together provide a great look at dolphins and the people who care about them (which ought to include you, by the way). Get them both. I did and I am very, very pleased..

This video was purchased for an Austistic child as he love dolphins. Great addition to educational materials for him. Pictures and footage are great.

This DVD is a solid collection of dolphin encounters, stories of people who have formed relationships with dolphins, dolphins in the wild, and dolphin intelligence observations (which are truly impressive).

There is no cruelty in this DVD, which does make it more relaxing to watch. On the back of the DVD case there is a warning about violence, but that applies to the entire "Explore the Wildlife Kingdom" series, not this DVD directly. There is no cruelty to dolphins in this film. Tihs is a family-friendly movie.

From a lone dolphin in Ireland to the river dolphins of the Amazon, this DVD covers man-dolphin relationships all across the globe. The background scenery is stunning as well, but nothing compares to the animals themselves.

This is well worth the money. It's also a good film to watch to calm down or just to relax.