The Dolphin In Movies & Books|All About Dolphins
It didn't take long for entertainment's "powers that be" to realize they had natural "stars" in mammals, particularly the popular dolphin. In 1973 was the film, "The Day of the Dolphin" The movie "Atlantis" came out in 1991, followed by "Star Trek IV" in 1986. The 1990's saw "Free Willy" with the killer whale Orca on the screen in 1995; followed by "Johnny Mnemonic" in 1995; and "Free Willy 2" in 1995. The concept of using dolphins in the military has been explored in books, but mainly in film, for example in the Mike Nichols film "The Day of The Dolphin" in 1973. It was based on the novel A Sentient Animal by Robert Mede, and told of trained dolphins being kidnapped, and forced to perform a naval military assassination using explosives.. The short story Johnny Mnemonic by William Gibson, and the film adapted from it, featured a dolphin Navy veteran called "Jones" with a talent for deciphering, and an addiction for amphetamines. The TV series "Sea Quest DSV" presented a trained dolphin named Darwin as a member of the crew, and used a fictional invention called a vocoder, which supposedly translated dolphin's clicks, squawks, and whistles into English, and back into dolphin sounds. (Dolphins armed with sonar cannons were also depicted in the popular video game "Red Alert 2"). The book Startide Rising by David Brin tells the story of genetically engineered dolphins as part of the crew on a space ship. Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, and the Chicago Zoological Society, used the newest interactive computer technology to animate dolphins, and educate the public, through the animation of Matt Goldblatt. Through the unusual talents of Goldblatt, the aquamarine world of Sarasota Bay and the bottlenose dolphin inhabitants came to life. Eighty-five computer consoles allowed the audience to experience the unique combination of a movie linked to video games. The "Flipper" tv series by Ivan Tors portrayed a friendship between a dolphin and two boys, Sandy and Bud. A second "Flipper" movie in 1996 was based on the original movie "A Bottlenose Dolphin" The killer whale Orca became famous in the movie "Free Willy which told how a 12 year old street kid became friendly with a 3 ton Orca . The horror movie "Orca" depicted a different Orca who takes out his revenge on fishermen who killed his mate. The IMAX theater film "Whales" in two-dimension came to life on a six-story screen, and the audience experienced underwater life which affects whales as well as dolphins. "Dolphins", another IMAX theater film, also in two-dimension, portrayed the communication and antics of the beloved dolphin. Two interesting books about dolphins are Dolphins and Porpoises by Janelle Hatherly, and Delia Nicholls; and Dolphins by Michael Bright.
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