Watch The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos For Free

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The acting in this movie is really good.

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.

Well, I must say that I was really quite impressed with this "Disneynature" documentary that took an in-depth look at the flamingos of Africa who (once a year) arrive by the 1000s at Lake Natron (in Tanzania) in order to mate and raise their young.In part, this thoughtful documentary was, without question, a very sad tale from the viewpoint of the survival of the flamingo chicks who must quickly gather their strength in order to endure the hardships that immediately come before them and challenge their very existence.With its excellent photography and its equally superb soundtrack music (from The Cinematic Orchestra), I certainly recommend this DVD very highly to those of you who are interested in witnessing such an amazing phenomenon like this one from the world of nature where many astounding marvels are there for us to behold.