Water Birds is a 1952 short documentary film directed by Ben Sharpsteen. The film delves into the still waters of lagoons and marshes to the wild blue wilderness of the vast oceans, to experience the beauty and variety of their majestic birds, each perfectly designed for its habitat. It won the Oscar for Best Short Subject, Two-Reel.
With some help from Franz Liszt and a lively narration from Winston Hibler, this half hour feature takes us to an ornithologists paradise as we meet a myriad of bird life that live on or near the water. From the tiniest of term chicks, to black albatrosses, pelicans and precision-diving gannets the
... photography captures much of the vibrancy of their colours, acrobatics and courtship rituals as these often quite aerodynamically magnificent creatures somehow manage to haul themselves off the ground and get themselves airborne. I suppose my favourite from amongst this diverse range has to be the baby pelicans - anyone else think they reminded them of “Jar Jar Binks” only less ungainly and irritating as they half-waddled half-crawled towards the sea? I wonder how many human parents could pick up out their own offspring if it were left in amongst several thousands other screaming weans? These birds seem to be able to identify their own without any hesitation, and are also not so welcoming of any strays who encroach on what might pass for a nest, a burrow, a branch or just a hole in the sand. I would have preferred a little less scoring and more natural sound, but I suppose getting these colourful visuals was difficult enough without trying to mic things up too. It’s a pocket encyclopaedia of nature at it’s most creative, curious and passes half an hour quite entertainingly - unless you are a fish.
