Dolphin Reef is one of the newest Disneynature documentaries out there, and was released exclusively on Disney+ a little while ago. To me, these documentaries always feel like the same kind of movie, but just in a different location centered on a different group of wildlife. Because of this, I feel like if you’ve seen any of them, you know what to expect here, and so you don’t really need me to tell you whether or not you’ll enjoy Dolphin Reef.

If it wasn’t obvious, Dolphin Reef takes a close examination at the sea creatures in a dolphin reef. These Disneynature documentaries tend to like to make the subjects of these things feel like characters, and so we follow a dolphin named Echo, and witness how he must learn to survive in his habitat. The movie does still show a pretty interesting mix of sea life, though, instead of only focusing on the dolphins the entire time. The dolphins are definitely the biggest focus, but you get to see a lot of other creatures in the reef as well.

I always basically feel the same after watching one of these. I don’t feel like my life has been changed in any major way, but I always think there’s a cool novelty in looking at the wildlife depicted. The Disneynature guys have this down to a science at this point, and so these documentaries are always expertly crafted, and Dolphin Reef is no exception. I always feel like I learned something and that I got an interesting peek into wildlife that I’d never encounter on my own. Dolphin Reef wasn’t really one of my favorites of this genre, but I think that anyone who’s interested in the subject matter will find it interesting.

3.5/5