Most of us are curious about animals that we may never see or only see from afar. I loved the whales at SeaWorld as a girl. Very intelligent, captivating. The fact that you could see something up so close that would normally be in the depths of the ocean is thrilling . This movie tells the story of how our human curiosity and even love of animals can go awry when we cross boundaries or try to 'humanize' an animal whose natural instincts are diametrically opposed to ours. The footage does give you a perspective of the incredible attachments to each other the whales have. It's also tragic in telling of how , un-knowingly, we contribute to the suffering of captive animals. You are drawn to the whales and also to the trainers who have lived with the animals & love them, yet risk their lives. Much has been learned over the years from witnessing how whales respond , their hierarchy, their intelligence. But sadly, the 'teachers' have given and taken lives in the process. Perhaps this glimpse into reality will cause positive changes in respecting the animals, and in finding better ways for humans to learn about/ admire these majestic creatures.

Heart wrenching to watch but you have to force yourself to get through to understand what is REALLY happening at Sea World. What really happens when you take a 12,000 pound whale, put it in nothing bigger than a kiddie pool for its life, force feed it to keep it alive and to make it behave the way you want all for profit? Things happen. Bad things happen. Blackfish happens.

I went in skeptical but the turning point for me was watching the mother's scream for the babies as they take them away...in particular the one that made a deep, never before heard sound for hours after her baby calf was taken and hauled off to another gig. Kind of reminds me of desperate mothers on the news pleading with a kidnapper to give her baby back...

These animals don't need to be studied and "saved" by SW...look through their smoke screen and watch the movie to decide for yourself.

This documentary is largely comprised of interviews with former trainers of Seaworld, and also one of the men who captured Tillikum (the whale who killed the trainer in 2010...among others) as a baby. This man felt an incredible sense of guilt, and the footage makes you see why. There really isn't any disputing the facts. It leaves out any death or gory scenes, but you will be moved by the conditions the whales were kept in (since Seaworld hasn't commented, we don't know how they treat them presently). The ex-trainers themselves provide the info, most feeling very guilty but also conflicted because they had been told one thing by Seaworld and gradually realized the facts they were fed were not true, and they stayed on to care for "their" whales to try to help. The truth is exposed in this documentary, and hopefully it will lead to great outrage and the release of these intelligent creatures back into the wild. It's on Netflix streaming now - just watch and judge for yourselves, do your research online, and the facts will speak for themselves. Am ashamed I ever went to Seaworld.

As background, I had no preconceptions nor expectations when I first went to see this documentary in the theater. Also, I'm a long time resident of Central Florida, have never been an animal activist, and always loved taking out-of-town visitors to Sea World in Orlando. The killer whale show was always the highlight of the day.

This documentary is truly outstanding and I was thrilled when the DVD was released. In many ways, the DVD is even better than seeing it in the theater because of the added educational value of the special features and commentary. The former trainers who are interviewed in the film do an excellent job in explaining the conditions to which the whales are subjected and provide reasons why unpredictable and aggressive behavior may sometimes occur. Former trainers Jeffrey Ventre, John Jett, Samantha Berg, Dean Gomersall, and Carol Ray are especially effective in relating the cause and effect of whale behavioral based on the environment in which they exist. They deserve much credit for their courage to speak out, and their testimony adds tremendously to the credibility of the film. Expert whale researchers and neuro-scientists add fascinating information comparing killer whale behavior in their natural habitat in the wild versus captivity. Especially interesting is the discussion of the makeup of the brain of a killer whale, the social bonds among them, and their exceptional emotional capacity. The entire experience of watching the documentary is very emotional. The screenwriting, directing, and editing of the film are excellent, much of the cinematography is beautiful, and the background music during the scenes of blackfish in the wild is perfect.

My takeaways from watching the DVD are as follows: a) of all mammals, killer whales are least suitable for captivity; b) captivity shortens the average life span of killer whales and often leads to unpredictable and aggressive behavior that has caused numerous injuries and some fatalities among trainers; c) trainers should not be in the water with killer whales; d) although Sea World has and continues to do much good in terms of animal rescue and research, they have absolutely no credibility in defending their practices of using captive killer whales in a circus environment.

This is an outstanding documentary and a must see for all interested in preserving the dignity of these highly evolved mammals. I recommend it highly!