Die Insel der Küstenwölfe

"Island of the Sea Wolves" is a four-episode mini-series which debuted on Netflix. It's set on Vancouver Island and follows several different animals over the course of a year...with each episode covering (approximately) one season. The show follows wolves, marmots, bears, bald eagles and NOT just wolves despite the title. In fact, the title to me just seems pretty arbitrary. It could have just as soon been called "Island of the Marmots"!

So what did I like about it? The cinematography is breathtaking. While not as grand as shows like "Earth" or films like the recent Disney nature documentaries, it has wonderful closeup shots of many wonderful creatures and the geography is lovely as well...and all well worth seeing.

And, what did I not love about the shows? The narration...which is OFTEN a problem with nature films. Too often the narration is very non-scientific and humanizes the animals...giving them names and even trying, occasionally, to be funny. I personally don't like this and wish the film was more scientific in focus. But, I guess there's a balance...too scientific and fewer might watch it. All I know is that it looks great...and a few times I winced at what was said in the shows.

Our family very much enjoyed this documentary. Amazing cinematography and animal close-ups, engaging story lines, and moments of suspense and surprise. The naming of the animals was very helpful when following the complex family dynamics and interactions with the various generations. Don't worry about the "anthropomorphism" mentioned by another reviewer - this technique was pioneered by Jane Goodall, and is now very much accepted by the scientific community (it was shunned back in the 60s because of people wanting to believe in the superiority of humans). As primatologists and neurobiologists have said, animals and humans share behaviors, and giving animals names has helped us understand their unique communities, cultures, and emotions. Very inspiring series to help us appreciate the natural world around us.

As a BC resident who's spent countless hours in our lavish nature wonderland, it's nice to see the area getting a bit of a spotlught. The visuals in this 3 part series are outstanding. The 4k (well, as much of 4k as you get get via WiFi Netflix) is great and very sharp. That's the series high point.

No shade to will Arnett, but the dialogue is just awful. These are animals, stop anthropomorphizing them. Stop giving them names and treating them as though they are humans. They are not. It's cringy and completely unnecessary. It would help if the dialogue was also correct. Incorrectly naming both plants and animals is bush league. Storms have not increased in frequency or in stature here in BC. Keep your climate alarmism to yourself, we don't deal in fallacies here, just facts.

All in all its good, even better if you can throw your favorite album on and turn this joke of an audio track off.

The camera work is well done and pulls the viewer in. The writing and narration is irritating, treating the animals like they are cute little human characters, cartoon-like, ugh. It's called anthropomorphizing, and it's tedious and juvenile. Too bad, really. This series could have been amazing. Structuring the series into 3 parts for 3 seasons works, though one wonders why the 4th season (winter) was not done. In the end, the series is worth watching for the visuals. There is some helpful information in the narration if you can stomach the disrespectful treatment of the animals in the writing.

Island of the Sea Wolves takes a close look at wildlife on Vancouver Island on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada.

It features intimate close ups and amazing shots of several species of elusive animals within a temperate rainforest coastline.

Mostly focusing on unique 'Sea Wolves' for part of the series, it also dives into the life and death survival of several other species such as bald eagles, sea otters, the rare and endangered Vancouver Island marmot, black bears and more.

Many scenes leave you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen to the animals as they proceed with their lives, with some bringing tragedy and others moments of joy.

All in all, a wonderful documentary with excellent narration by Will Arnett. A must watch for anyone curious about the wildlife in the Pacific north west as well as the unique ways in which they survive on the island.