Prowlers of the Everglades

Prowlers of the Everglades

Between 1948 and 1960, Disney made fourteen nature documentary films, seven of them short subjects and seven of them full length and all narrated by Winston Hibler. Starting with 'Seal Island' and ending with 'Jungle Cat'. This series was called True Life Adventures, seen as a big fan of Disney and nature documentaries and after wanting to see some older nature documentaries. The True Life Adventures series is a more than worthwhile one and of consistently high quality (especially the short subjects) and do prefer all of them over most of the recent years DisneyNature films. All of the seven short films in the True Life Adventures series are must watches. 'Prowlers of the Everglades', the last short film in the series, certainly fits my definition of a must watch and manages to make what doesn't sound at first glance like the most appealing of subject matters if one is a person with not much prior knowledge of alligators actually quite fascinating and very beautifully. 'Prowlers of the Everglades' is not one of my favourites of the short films, but it is still great and by the end there was a lot learnt about alligators than seeing them in the reptile house at the zoo or when they are discussed in passing in documentaries since. Will agree that some of the information regarding the alligators is a bit hyperbolic, they can be dangerous but they are not as scary or as monstrous when reading up on them later than they are made out. However, a lot is absolutely excellent. Like all the short films in the True Life Adventures series and the whole series in general, 'Prowlers of the Everglades' looks absolutely great with very atmospheric and vivid photography. Seeing alligators so intimately was a unique sight for anything focused on alligators and the scenery is beautiful and unyielding. Had no problem with the music either, which marries with the visuals effectively without spelling out the emotions or intruding. It's not inappropriate mood wise either. 'Prowlers of the Everglades' definitely educated me, especially seeing that it focused on a subject where my knowledge was relatively limited compared to the subjects of most of the other True Life Adventures documentaries. A lot of the information was illuminating and while it admirably works hard to being accessible for younger audiences with a few cute but not juvenile or manipulative scenes, 'Prowlers of the Everglades' is also one of the darker short films in the series as it is one of those that doesn't shy away from showing the darker side of alligators and their behaviours. Furthermore, Winston Hibler's narration delivery has always divided those that have watched the True Life Adventures films, personally had no problem with it in all but one. Here it is good natured and even the more deadpan delivery doesn't come over as that monotone, while not jarring with the darker tone of some scenes or forgetting the primary target audience (the whole family). Summarising, excellent. 9/10.

There were plenty of nature documentaries predating (see F. Percy Smith) and contemporary (see Arne Sucksdorff) to Walt Disney's True Life Adventures, but there's little question who dominated this genre in the late '40s and '50s. You simply can't beat glorious Technicolor, thundering music scores by Paul Smith, Winston Hibler's laid-back narration and the animated paintbrush "Tinkerbell treatment". Naturalistic accuracy was not always the goal, despite intros to the contrary; but I've found much guilty pleasure in square-dancing scorpions and Anvil Chorus bighorns. Sadly, we are so immersed in Animal Planet shows, it is hard to picture the impact wild animals in their native habitat must have had on the BIG screen. I love all of them, but PROWLERS OF THE EVERGLADES (completed in 1952, but an Oscar winner the following year) and the feature SECRETS OF LIFE (which should have won one) are the two I've watched the most, perhaps because they are the least "disneyfied". Well... almost... you see, the "funny" otters were so popular in BEAVER VALLEY, that their Everglades cousins just had to put in their own clowning act in PROWLERS as well. On the plus side, there's no cartoony business for the alligators or the waterfowl and turtles who cautiously share housing (and occasionally become lunch). The clever camera effects achieved by the Milotte husband and wife team (true successors in spirit of Martin & Olsa Johnson two decades earlier... couples who adventure-seek together usually stay together) is brought to a peak in the underwater scenes, highlighted by "mirror" gators on the ceiling, and in the close-and-personal clips of hatching reptiles in a very well-guarded nest.

"Prowlers of the Everglades" is an excellent Disney nature documentary and is well worth seeing. However, be forewarned...some of the film is filled with hyperbole that really is meant more to interest viewers instead of passing on real facts. What I am referring to are the alligators, as the film makes them sound like scary, ultra-dangerous creatures...calling them 'monsters' as well as calling them 'the scourge of the swamp'! Sure overly dramatic and silly things are pretty typical of the 1950s nature films but really are misleading and silly. While I would not recommend you hug or kiss a gator, I live with them around our property and they are not particularly aggressive..especially towards people. The film consists essentially putting cameramen in the Florida swamp and having them record the many interesting creatures--birds, turtles, gators and otters, among others. For an older documentary, the footage is very good and clear and represents the best of the era. Just remember, as I said above, the film occasionally exaggerates....a wee tad.

A Walt Disney TRUE-LIFE ADVENTURE Short Subject. Florida's great water lands may look placid, but an implacable menace lurks just below the surface. The PROWLERS OF THE EVERGLADES - the alligator - is revealed in this fascinating little film as the dominate life-force in its ecosystem. Highlight: the exhilarating escapades of the otters. `This is one of a series of TRUE-LIFE ADVENTURES presenting strange facts about the world we live in. In the making of these films, nature is the dramatist. There are no fictitious situations or characters.' Winston Hibler is the narrator.