Coral Reef Adventure (2004)

91% of critics liked it
(23 reviews)
64% of users liked it
(641 ratings)

IMAX director Greg MacGillivray's 2003 film, Coral Reef Adventure, follows the exploits and crusades of the husband and wife underwater filmmaking duo of Howard and Michelle Hall as they embark on a ten-month expedition of the world's most vibrant and endangered coral reefs. Beginning at the Great… More IMAX director Greg MacGillivray's 2003 film, Coral Reef Adventure, follows the exploits and crusades of the husband and wife underwater filmmaking duo of Howard and Michelle Hall as they embark on a ten-month expedition of the world's most vibrant and endangered coral reefs. Beginning at the Great Barrier Reef off the Australian coast, the Halls explore the vast underwater ecosystem and the scores of wildlife that thrive off of it. Traveling on throughout a number of the South Pacific's most spectacular reefs, the filmmakers also visit some reefs on the verge of extinction, making the sobering point that an entire reef's death occurs very quickly, while its creation takes thousands of years. Coral Reef Adventure marks the third oceanic, ecologically-themed IMAX film from MacGillivray, following The Living Sea and Dolphins. Also featured in the film are famed sea explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau (son of the pioneering oceanographer Jacques Cousteau) and noted ichthyologist Richard Pyle. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 45 min.
Directed By: Greg MacGillivrary, Greg MacGillivray
Written By: Osha Gray Davidson, Stephen Judson, Jack Stephens
Genres: Documentary, Special Interest

In Theaters: Jan 30, 2004 Limited
On DVD: Jan 6, 2004
Studio: MacGillivray Freeman Films Pro

Critic Reviews

Erika Gonzalez, Denver Rocky Mountain News
Overall, the producers do a nice job balancing beautiful scenery with a serious message.
Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times
Part amusement park ride, part public service announcement, Coral Reef Adventure is most effective when doing what Imax movies do best: transporting audiences to unusual places they might not otherwise visit.
Jane Sumner, Dallas Morning News
A film for all who care about the world their children and grandchildren will inherit.
, Boston Globe
Adventure it is, and of the most exhilarating sort.
Susan Granger, SSG Syndicate
Educational and stimulating, hopefully encouraging environmental support for the world's endangered reefs.
Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
Lots of very pretty images with lots of dazzling colors. There is also an element of science. The trouble is, science and environmentalism don't mix that well.
Erik Lundegaard, Seattle Times
The panoramic views of various island locations are, of course, gorgeous, and inspire a kind of giddy vertigo.
Linda Cook, Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)
You won't find Nemo. But you'll find zillions of other creatures amazing in their color, fragility and rarity.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
A truly magical experience, Coral Reef Adventure entices us deep into the ocean's wonderland, dazzling us by the wonders of life beneath the surface.
Chuck Wilson, L.A. Weekly
Remarkable undersea footage, most of it starring fish and coral so unusually shaped and brightly colored that one has to remind oneself that they're real.
Bruce Kirkland, Jam! Movies
Perfectly balances entertainment and nature-science elements in its brisk and sometimes thrilling 46 minutes.
David Barton, Sacramento Bee
Explores coral reefs around the Pacific Ocean with a dazzling and sometimes irritating variety of computer graphics, brilliant nature photography and jarring sound effects straight out of Finding Nemo.
Jordan Reed, Boxoffice Magazine
As beautiful as it often is to watch, Coral Reef Adventure ultimately comes off as a bit too kid-friendly and faux-inspirational, which is kind of a drag.
Daniel Eagan, Film Journal International
Can be enjoyed simply as a spectacular South Seas travelogue with superb underwater footage. Its environmental warnings are an added and important bonus.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
We learn a lot about dying coral and see a lot of life on the reef.
Ross Anthony, Hollywood Report Card
The film favors the scientific over the spectacular (visually speaking).
Herb Lash, Big Movie Zone
Coral Reef Adventure is a heavyweight film that fights a good fight on behalf of the world's endangered reefs -- and it lets the pictures do the punching.
Peter Bernard, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The large-frame IMAX camera lends itself beautifully to filming the teeming life on the reefs, making this gorgeous film a must for everyone from junior scientists to grown-up fish lovers.
Jackie Loohauis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Color, musical bounce and warm seas lapping on island shores. And just enough science to send you home thinking.

Read all 19 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

No Featured Audience Ratings Found…

Cast

See full cast

Trailers & Clips

Now you can share movies with your friends on Facebook!

Discover movies your friends are watching
Keep track of what you want to see
Add your reviews to your Timeline

Get Started