This little film is just really fun to watch. I love the idea behind it, and teachers using it in the classroom will want to either read the book to their students first, or explain the premise, as the narration in the film is quite subtle regarding the boy's illness and why he himself cannot 'paddle to the sea.' Very young kids will appreciate all the animals that interact with the canoe, and the film presents the opportunity to segue into science or history or geography lessons.
August 8, 2008Having first met Paddle to the Sea in print as a child, and having been fascinated by it, I felt this was a true interpretation and faithful to the book. I would introduce the child first to the book and then to the DVD.
August 1, 2008 |  | A Mythic Story about Journeys |  |
This is the kind of film that works its way into your subconscious. A boy carves a small wooden canoe with one wooden passenger...an all-watchful Native American...and sends the small craft into a frozen lake so that it can journey thousands of miles to the ocean. To keep the canoe afloat, the boy pours a bar of lead into the bottom of the canoe. "I am Paddle to the Sea" the boat tells us. The film tracks its journey past frogs, deer, and snakes, past ice and storm, even past the rushing currents of Niagara Falls. A few individuals fish it out of the water but on seeing the instructions (carved on the bottom of the boat) they wisely return the craft back into the lake or stream from whence it came. Thus, the canoe returns to its mysterious source. This is a fine contemplative film that makes us meditate on our own personal journeys, our own attachments, and our own connection to the living world (After all, the canoe started out as part of a tree). In a 21st century world where too many children's films are violent or meaningless, this is a perfect gift for youngsters five and upwards.
July 1, 2008Great little story. Just as I remembered it from my childhood. Great DVD to share with your kids.
June 27, 2008 | | Quaint children's documentary, lovingly restored | |
This 1966 children's documentary from Canada -- concerning a child's toy canoe that slowly wends its way to the sea -- was shot in grainy 16mm with a mono soundtrack. Most likely it will never look or sound better than it does in this spiffy new Janus Film/Criterion DVD. Viewers who expect a Dolby stereo track on this disc will be disappointed; Criterion views unauthorized stereo remixes as a violation of authorial intent.
PADDLE TO THE SEA offers plenty of jaw-dropping nature footage that will leave you wondering just how director Bill Mason did it. But the narration may be too pedantic and the pace too deliberate for today's youngsters. No extras here, except for some well-written liner notes.
June 2, 2008More reviews at Amazon.com ...
Daily Birthdays
(15 reviews)