Sandy the Seal

I had not heard of this movie before I stumbled across a DVD containing it a few days ago, and it's more likely than not you've not heard of it before. It's an effort from schlock producer Harry Alan Towers, who also wrote the screenplay. He wrote it under a pseudonym, and it's easy to see why. The movie is very unfocused and meandering at times, playing like it was edited from several episodes of a (bad) television series. The direction is a mess as well. For one thing, the movie never makes clear where the events of the movie are taking place (Australia? South Africa?) The biggest problem, however, is that despite the short running time, the movie is almost a complete bore. There are a few impressive tricks the seal pulls off, but those scenes only add up to a few seconds of screen time. If your kids want to see a movie about a seal, find a copy of "The Golden Seal" instead. It is far from perfect, but it's way better than "Sandy The Seal".

This looks like something made in 1933. Its hard to believe its from 1969, what with the colors, the tracking and the sound quality. The color looks like old two-strip Technicolor, but worse than that. I have seen many two-strip Technicolor films and they look better than this crap. Buy this film, and try to look for a copy of The Black Pirate, Whoopee or Hollywood Revue and compare it, and you'll see what I mean.

"When a compassionate lighthouse-keeper rescues an abandoned seal and brings it home to his children to look after, they are drawn into a fight to eliminate seal poachers from their coastal town," according to the DVD sleeve description.

Picture a European version of a "Wonderful World of Disney" production with some social consciousness thrown in, and you're getting close to "Sandy the Seal". So, did Mr. Disney let a live action seal adventure get away? No, witness "Sammy, the Way-out Seal" (1962). This trivial "Sandy" is made more bearable by Malcolm Lockyer's appropriately derivative soundtrack.

*** Sandy the Seal (1969) Robert Lynn ~ Heinz Drache, Marianne Koch, David Richards, Anne Mervis

I watched this with my wife and 6 year old granddaughter. It is dated but that makes it a bit interesting for a child. We are boaters and my granddaughter immediately picked up on the fact that the children in the film didn't wear life jackets, among other nautical no-nos.

It is a peak back to a simpler time when a kind villager/fisherman invites the children to go out fishing for the day, without telling mom, who is always at home.

Moments such as these will bring warm memories to those who were lucky enough to have experience them in childhood, or had the good fortune to have raised children in this time period.

The poaching of seals is the main source of conflict in this film. The hooligans who are killing seals are depicted as foolhardy, and cold-hearted men, who will stop at nothing to earn "big rewards" for killing animals that are protected.

This is the kind of film I wish I could show my 3-year-old nephew. Unfortunately his parents are more of the close-minded sort who fear and ridicule anything they consider to be "liberal". They won't even let him watch the Teletubbies because they think Tinky Winky is gay. *smacks forehead*

Much like the Disney classic "The Fox and the Hound" which is a gentle introduction to the horrific sport of fox mutilation & disembowelment--er... whoops I meant "fox hunting"--told in a cute and inoffensive way, "Sandy the Seal" approaches the truth about our world where seals are shot and/or skinned alive by profiteering humans. But rest easy, you don't see any blood or any wounded animals. All the violence is left to your imagination. You see gunshots and later you see seal skins (clean & dried), and you're left to surmise how they got from point 'A' to point 'B'. In that respect, the naïve kids can enjoy it as a cute story whilst the worldly grownups can appreciate it for its powerful message.

I wish I were raised on this sort of movie when I was a kid. It would have made the transition from sheltered-life to reality much more gradual and painless. Unfortunately, I, like my poor nephew, was kept oblivious until late in life at which point the truth hit me hard and brutally. If you've got a tot, please show her/him films like this, like "The Fox and the Hound", "Charlotte's Web" or (if you can find a copy) "Maumy (Hearty Paws)", a wonderful 2006 movie about a stray dog in Korea. These films teach youngsters that the world can be bad, but there is always a positive way of dealing with it.

"Sandy the Seal" has a few weaknesses. It features a lot of "seal-doing tricks" scenes, and at one point you wonder if this is a promo for Sea World in Orlando. Dialogue is minimal, and the kids' acting is... well... like *kids* (often being melodramatic, looking at the camera/director, or one funny goof where we see the girl quietly rehearsing her line before she says it). So don't expect Amadeus. Remember this is a kiddie film.

And now a word about the quality of the DVD since the only other reviewer seemed intent on trashing this movie because of it. Sure, the copy I purchased has bad video, but I got it as part of the "100 Family Classics" collection which is bad overall. Crikey, what do you expect when you pay 35 bucks for 100 movies crammed onto 24 discs? Still it's watchable, sort of like an old VCR tape. I enjoyed it. I watched it with my dog, and she seemed to enjoy it. That ought to be good enough for anyone.