Il mistero dei fenicotteri rosa

"The Crimson Wing" is the sort of wildlife documentary that is most likely to leave the sympathetic viewer somewhat saddened when they witness the survival struggles of the flamingos who flock in the 1000s at Lake Natron, Tanzania.

This excellently photographed documentary is impressively presented through "Disneynature". And - (IMO) - It is certainly well-worth a view for all of those spectators out there who can greatly appreciate all that takes place (be it good or bad) in the wonderfully fascinating (and often mysterious) world of nature.

This is the first of a new generation of nature documentaries from Disney and they picked a VERY difficult topic to cover. Instead of the usual locations like jungles or plains, this one is filmed in the most hellish place in Tanzania--near the Kenyan border in a region made toxic to most life by volcanic ash. However, surprisingly, 2.5 million flamingos return to Lake Natron each year- -despite it having a pH of 10.5 and being made up of a mixture of ash and salt. The film follows the flamingos for a year--as the return to do their courtship rituals, lay and hatch eggs and then grow into adulthood. It's all quite lovely with nice cinematography yet Disney chose not to release this to theaters--though it would have been lovely to see on the giant screen.

My only reservations are that kids might be a bit shook up because nature is pitiless and you see a lot of flamingos die. Also, biologists might dislike how the narration often becomes much too prosaic and not exactly scientific. Still, the overall effect is breathtaking and if you see it, try to see it on as large a TV as possible.

For me, Crimson Wing was a somewhat sad and tragic story that showed me very clearly what hardships the flamingos had to go through in order to preserve their species.

Filmed almost entirely at Lake Natron in Tanzania, not only did the adult flamingos have to protect their new-born chicks from such ravenous beasts as the mongoose, but the vast salt deposits that accumulate around Lake Natron posed an equally treacherous threat for the survival of the struggling young, as well.

Crimson Wing was a "Disney-Nature" presentation. Not only was it impressively photographed and its narration by Mariella Frostrup informative, but its musical score by Le Cinematic Orchestra set the mood of this documentary's story very nicely.

Yes. I certainly do recommend Crimson Wing to all who are curious about the diversity of the natural world that exists in abundance all across this planet we call "ours'.

Like MARCH OF THE PENGUINS, THE CRIMSON WING is a nature documentary focused on a single subject, produced by Walt Disney Studios of all people. Thankfully this isn't a twee or sentimental type account of the material, rather a solid, fact-focused documentary packed full of gorgeous photography of the birds.

It turns out that Lesser Flamingos are the birds behind the myth of the Phoenix, and the correlation of their lifecycle to that of the legendary bird rising from the ashes is an engaging one. But this is a film that offers more to the casual viewer, with plenty of tragedy and chaos along the way. There are the inevitably tear-jerking scenes involving the chicks that didn't make it, and such moments are tragic beyond belief.

THE CRIMSON WING offers strong commentary by experienced narrator Mariella Frostrup and a lean, mean, running time which excises extraneous material from the narrative. Best of all, though, it has fantastic cinematography that helps to fuel a colourful, engaging and thorough exploration of the topic.

The DisneyNature documentaries vary in quality, while not caring for 'Elephant' and 'Born in China' 'Earth' and 'Oceans' for instances are outstanding. Many people said that DisneyNature's first documentary was a must watch and being someone who likes flamingos a lot (some gorgeous ones at my local zoo) and wanted to know more about these too often under-explored animals there was no chance of missing 'The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingo'.

Found myself really impressed by 'The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingo' when watching it a few weeks ago. It may not be the best introduction to the DisneyNature documentaries for younger audiences, as by DisneyNature standards 'The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingo' is quite dark at times. To me, it is actually among the better DisneyNature documentaries, with it being one of the more informative, best narrated and best scored, even if other ones are even better visually.

It's not perfect, some of the final act drags and the content is a touch on the repetitive side at this point too.

However, 'The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingo' looks wonderful. The scenery is a wonder to look at and is also suitably unforgiving to show that flamingos still have difficulties adapting to their environments. The photography is even better, lots of vibrant colour and seeing them up close shows the flamingos' beauty even more while not being claustrophobic. As said, the music (a variable aspect in the DisneyNature documentaries) is beautifully scored and adds to the mood perfectly without spelling things out too much, one of the best of the lot. Beautifully performed too.

Narration came over as very engaging and informative, never childish, patronising or schmaltzy. Such a lot not known beforehand was learned, the only thing not so good about this aspect was moments of repetition in the last act. Mariella Frostrup narrates with warmth and a sincere quality, with clear interest in the material and the ability to respect the viewer.

Moreover, the flamingos are absolutely adorable, look amazing and so easy to root for. Their journey has some entertainment value and a huge amount of charm, but it is also incredibly moving and doesn't shy away from showing the difficulties they have to overcome. Some of which shocking and quite dark but not too disturbing for DisneyNature.

Concluding, very good. 8/10