The Voyage of the Mimi

I remember watching this movie when I was in fourth grade (about 15 years ago) for a part of our whale unit, and recall that I enjoyed it immensely. It was an engaging plot for a movie based around a whale research vessel, and I don't mind admitting that my nine year-old self had a bit of a crush on the then child star Ben Affleck. While it's not necessarily a great film for the adult viewer, and is by now certainly showing its age, for children who are interested in maritime experiences and whales, it's a more than a diversion, and probably a good way to spend a few afternoons. Not for the film critic (obviously), especially since the acting is definitely mediocre at best, but certainly a pleasant view for those of us under the age of 12.

Unlike many of the commentators who've put their two cents in on this show, I didn't become acquainted with "The Voyage of the Mimi" because of it being shown in any of my classes. Instead, I got to watch it because I was a PBS fanatic when I was a little kid and this was one of the shows that aired during the "children's block" of the decade I was a little kid, i.e. the '80s.

My recollections of the show were as follows: little boy gets invited to take part in a sea voyage led by the boy's captain grandfather. Said voyage, including in it several people who looked to be of high school or college age, takes a long while. Voyage takes detours along the way to explore various places relating to sea life and sailing/yachting. The little boy, who was played by a very young Ben Affleck, sticks out in my mind the most because of the fact that I (quite embarrassingly) had wanted to be *friends* with his little boy character when I was a little girl. Ah, what simple and innocent memories.

In terms of the quality of the show -- well, it certainly wasn't going to have great acting or brilliant scripts, but then again its target audience (little children) wasn't going to demand that either. I found myself quite enraptured of that program when I was young because it taught me things while involving me in a story and because I was a PBS nut anyway. "The Voyage of the Mimi" certainly shouldn't be considered prime material for showing to eighth graders -- younger children such as second or third graders would probably be the better viewing audience. It's simple, it's fun, and heck, if your little girl only dreams of being *friends* with a young Ben Affleck, that should be better, right?

I watched this when I was in Grade 5, and I liked it. It was interesting to see a gawky version of Ben Affleck parade around, and the films weren't just educational--they were interesting, each charactar having a story to tell. I would recommend it for kids in their early teens and below.

The other day in my Integrated Science class my teacher showed my class a taping of a TV show called "The Voyage of the Mimi" Since I have a crush on Mr. Ben Affleck, I naturally was excited to see his earlier work. I watched and was amazed at how informative and accurate the show was! After the show we had a test.......I got an A!

This was a fabulous show. I watched it as an adult with my baby sister and learned *so* much. Even today, years later I can remember lessons I learned on "Voyage of the Mimi" about whales, whale tagging and whale songs, but the show was about so much more than whales. I learned about sailing, sign language, research methods, the top of Mount Washington, hypothermia and so much more. When watching documentaries, to this day, I often see eminent scientists that I first "met" on "Voyage of the Mimi," such as Ken Balcomb and Sylvia Earle. The first part of the episode would often introduce a subject which would then be carried through to the expedition afterward. Those segments were full of information interesting to both adults and children. This show is so much more than a curiosity and a place to see a young Ben Affleck, (although I thought he was a good actor even then). If you want to learn more about the sea, whales, scientific research and even what it's like going to a college for the deaf, "Voyage of the Mimi" is a great place to get started. It certainly led to many avenues of interest and fields of inquiry for me.