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Paddle to the Sea More at IMDbPro »
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| Index | 11 reviews in total |
21 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
What a treat!, 12 November 1998
Author:
Varlaam from Toronto, Canada
Until this evening, I believe the last time I saw this film was in our Wolf
Cub pack, around 1969 or '70. Tonight I was tickled right through all over
again. The scene of the building of Paddle to the Sea was still familiar
even after all this time. It's amazing how they were able to
anthropomorphize that heroic little piece of carved wood.
This film should reinforce the spirit of adventure in any child. The
selfless actions of the secondary characters shouldn't be discounted
either.
(Kids aren't likely to notice the occasional geographical shortcut, such as
Niagara Falls being adjacent to Detroit!)
11 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
A True Classic, still holds up after 30 years!, 13 October 2002
Author:
Stanton Hugh Remmington (aglasse@yahoo.com) from Melbourne, Australia
I saw this film the first time as a youngster, while I was still living in Canada. I'm guessing it was about 1972, and I think we saw it as a part of our Geography class. We all groaned when we discovered the film was made by the C.B.C., we knew then it must be drab and boring. But, as the film unfolded, we found ourselves more and more captivated by the little wooden Indian in his canoe. And before we knew it, we were cheering after each trial and tribulation he encountered, and when the movie ended, a mere 28 minutes later, we groaned again...."it's over, already?!". Even after 36 years, this film holds up today as it did in 1966, it's warm, bright, fun, and totally captivating. I totally recommend this little bit of Canadiana to everybody!
12 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
Creates long lasting memories, 1 June 2006
Author:
Suzannah from United States
I saw this film in second grade and have remembered it all these years. I have been searching the internet for it, I thought it was called Indian in the Canoe. I am so happy to finally have figured out the name. The movie has created a long lasting memory for me and I wish to share it with my child. The Red Balloon is another great film that is soon to be available on a popular DVD rental site, in case anyone is interested. I hope to buy a copy of Paddle to the Sea to share with my child soon. I suggest anyone and everyone who is interested in independent films and who enjoy shorts to watch this immediately. I think more schools should take the time to show timeless treasures as these instead of the typical cartoon of the month. Maybe more kids would grow up interested in real film instead of just the usual blockbuster. Thanks for listening.
9 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
A Great Little Story That's Fun For Kids & Senior Citizens, 23 May 2008
Author:
ccthemovieman-1 from United States
This was a nice little half-hour movie, which reminded me a bit of
another film of similar length that was popular 50 years ago: The Red
Balloon. "Paddle To The Sea," made 42 years ago, never got the
publicity or achieved the popularity of "The Red Balloon" but if you
liked the latter, you'll like this. I enjoyed them equally.
This is a Canadian movie which begins by showing a boy whittling this
amazing piece of work: an Indian - very stoic looking - sitting in his
canoe. On the side of the boat, he asks that anyone who handles this
piece of art, "please throw it back in the water." The boy decides to
let this boat go as far as it can in the water. Although he lives on a
mountain, he knows once the ice of winter melts, the boat will slide
down the steep hill into a small creek and then into a river, into a
bigger river and, hopefully, all the way to Atlantic Ocean.
We (the camera) follow the progress of this little toy boat through
several seasons, some human contact, some contact with sea creatures
and birds. The little boat navigates down small rivers, rapids,
whirlpools, big rivers, small lakes, big lakes, canals....you name it.
Unlike most of the reviewers here, I never saw this movie as a kid. I
am only seeing it now as a 60-year-old man, but I enjoyed it as much as
any kid. This is "good stuff" that should appeal to anyone.
9 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
A beautiful story, 29 November 2006
Author:
icreeem from Lowell, MA, United States
I remember seeing this at elementary school in around 1973. I was delighted to later find the book, and enjoyed it just as much. I wanted to carve my own Paddle To The Sea so my Dad gave me a block of cedar and I whittled it down to Paddle On A Plank and the damn thing would float upside down! I didn't understand about ballast, but someone found this carving abandoned in the reed of the nearest pond and kept it and promptly forgot about it...this was a friend who lived down the street. Thirty years later we were talking about the pond and it reminded him to tell me about finding the carved little character. We went out to his shed and found it! So I have it still, a very crude, amateur carving of what actually resembles more a wolf on a raft than Paddle To The Sea! But at least I never forgot how fascinating the story was for me. Excellent!
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Awesome Film of Landscape and Spiritual Metaphor, 21 September 1998
Author:
CaptVic from Anchorage, Alaska
As a gradeschooler, we were made to watch a film one day. That film changed
my outlook on life significantly. Of course, that film was "Paddle to the
Sea."
This is an outstanding look at the Canadian wilderness; and the journey of
the boat of as much a symbol of the human condition as anything Shakespeare
penned.
I have not seen the film since I was a child. I have ordered it from the
Canadian Film Board. Wow, I can't wait to remember what every soul knows
deep inside.
3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
hand carved canoe sees adventure on its way to the ocean, 15 December 1999
Author:
owen-8 from Owen Sound, Ontario
A wonderful short that has been a standard in schools for years. It is about life and adventure and we all feel a need to support "paddle" as he heads for the sea."Look out of the snake, paddle!". Wonderful memories that have stayed with me all these years. Lets hear it for the National Film Board that supported the creation of such gems.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
A film that will stay with you, 8 August 2009
Author:
dbborroughs from Glen Cove, New York
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Hand carved Indian in a canoe makes its way from the wilds of Canada to
the sea.
Simple short film telling a simple story has haunted me since I saw it
on a rainy Saturday at a local museum which programed films for kids on
the weekend. There were three or four films shown that day, but this
was the only one that has stayed with me. There is something about it
that has haunted me. I know the tale has made some of my friends squirm
since they argue nothing happens and that there are no real characters,
but they are missing the point, the point is the journey and the
adventure of it.
I really like the film a great deal and highly recommend it-especially
for kids (and adults) with a sense of adventure.
A story that warms a boys heart for life, 8 March 2012
Author:
Dave Brittain from Canada
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
I saw the movie back in 1969 at a summer camp when it first came out. I was just a young boy of just eight years of age. Memories of this movie have stayed with me my entire life. Having not read the book the movie on its own caries its self very well. The commentary is well done. The scenes are natural that the character "Paddle" would see on its journey through the Great Lakes System. It is interesting the solitude and a loneliness that is portrayed as the seasons go by. This movie has always made me want to do something similar as the Native boy did with Paddle as well. Show it to your kids ages six through twelve. I think it would be enjoyed thoroughly by them. Nice, clean in that old fashioned way.
Good, but fails to capture the magic of the book, 12 June 2011
Author:
zbum from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
It's hard for me to evaluate this movie without comparing it to the book which I found mesmerizing as an 8-year old. I'm not trying to say that the movie has to be an exact replica of the book -- in fact I liked some of the liberties taken in the movie like the scene with the boy and his dog. However, there was an essence to the book that I didn't think the movie captured - the passage of time and the hardships that paddle faced along the way. Yes, the narrator talks about this, but it doesn't really come across in the movie - perhaps because it's only 28 minutes. Still, I think that if directed differently, this feeling could have been stronger. Finally, the ending of the book that reconnects Paddle with his creator was more fulfilling than the ending of the movie.
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