Wild Ocean

Every winter in South Africa, billions of wild sardines (yep, like those slimy little canned buggers) travel up the KwaZulu-Natal Wild Coast, and larger predators like sharks and whales give chase, making for a pretty kick-ass underwater fish fight. But who can travel all that way to see it? Starting Monday 5, the American Museum of Natural History introduces Wild Ocean, a 40-minute 3-D IMAX documentary exploring the migration and its global impact. “As we were filming, it became terribly clear that the ocean is changing,” says codirector Steve McNicholas, whose oceanic experience was previously limited to his love of deep-sea diving; he and partner Luke Cresswell are better known as the creators of Stomp. “We could see changes in temperature. If the water’s too warm, the sardines will just go somewhere else.” That would spell disaster for towns along the eastern coast, which depend on the sardines for income. The film isn’t totally preachy though: “This is a symphonic vision of the ocean that hasn’t been seen before,” says McNicholas. “Most ocean films tend to be dreamy, whereas this is a raw tooth-and-claw battle.” Don’t worry—it’s more National Geographic than Jaws.