Review: Disneynature's "Guardians of the Galapagos" Can't Decide Which Path to Take
You know what’s sort of punk rock? Making a documentary about the behind the scenes of another documentary in which you state that the first documentary is a lie. Guardians of the Galapagos continues Disneynature’s more recent tradition of creating a documentary that pairs with its nature equivalent, taking a human look at the habitat, the animals, and the work done to create these brilliant pieces of filmmaking.
In the case of Guardians of the Galapagos, we follow the crew involved with bringing the story of Leo the sea lion to life. We also follow a local fisherman as he explains his day-to-day life living in the Galapagos, working to keep the environment pristine. We also follow a scientist looking at how climate change and frequent El Niño events are hurting the ecosystem. Oh, and we also follow a group of school children learning about their environment through an on-the-ground nature program.
That’s the issue with Guardians of the Galapagos: it can’t decide what it wants to be. It flips between the individuals who call the Galapagos home, the scientists working to protect it, and the filmmakers working to capture it at such an intermittent pace that one can’t determine what the point of the proceedings are.
Mind you, each subsection is intriguing, especially that of the filmmakers. I’m always fascinated at how nature documentarians are able to capture such vivid imagery whilst not bothering the ecosystems around them. Through various shots during this documentary, we are able to get a glimpse at the steps that are taken to protect the animals and continue to show them off.
The filmmakers, however, quickly reveal a big secret in a manner of speaking. Leo, the star of Sea Lions of the Galapagos, is completely made up. While they did shoot some incredible footage of a young sea lion pup that is featured at the beginning of the Sea Lions documentary, it was not the same sea lion throughout. Each time we saw a sea lion, it was a completely different creature, strung together to provide a cohesive story to viewers. The initial documentary remains majestic and engaging, but I do find it rather brave to produce a complimentary piece of filmmaking that can be summarized as “PSYCH!"
Each individual part of the documentary is engaging, showcasing the multifaceted grouping of islands and the various people intertwined with the islands’ story. Yet, grouped together as they are in Guardians of the Galapagos is unsuccessful. While often I’d argue for the opposite, this documentary would’ve been better suited for a limited series, allowing each main character to be featured in individual episodes, helping to create a stronger context for not just their stories, but also the region as a whole. (Still crazy they cited their lies, though.)
Guardians of the Galapagos is now streaming on Disney+.