This film was brought to us by Frédéric Back, who created CRAC and THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES--two of the most beautiful and glorious animated films of all time and both Oscar winners. And, in the case of THE MIGHTY RIVER (LE FLEUVE AUX GRANDES EAUX), it also is a masterpiece. However, it lost the Oscar to a Wallace & Gromit film. I couldn't fault the Academy one way or another with this decision, as the two forms of art are so different--how do you compare brilliant stop-motion with adorable characters with an animated film that have tons of depth and is like a moving tapestry? They both were brilliant and it's too bad only one could have won this particular year.The film I saw was the English language version. I don't know about the French language one, but Donald Sutherland's narration was absolutely perfect. His soft and Canadian-accented voice was perfect in telling this tale of the St. Lawrence River. But, no matter how pretty his voice was, the animation itself was amazing--like paintings coming to life.The film begins with the beginning of the River. The pristine nature of this seaway is great to watch, as you see schools of fish and mammals cavorting. Then the film goes from the Native American era to the colonial period to today.The emphasis of this film is on the exploitation of the river and the way that mankind has taken it for granted. I appreciate this message and loved the film as it slowly meandered to a conclusion. The only way I would like to have seen the message changed at all was if the film had some sense of hope for the future. While I do NOT want people to take it for granted, at least in recent years the trend has been more positive--towards cleaning up the river and Great Lakes. While more needs to be done, they are a heck of a lot cleaner and healthier than decades ago--and this makes me feel that there is still lots of hope for the future. But, in a 24 minute film, you can't say it all! Brilliant, beautiful and a true masterpiece of animation.

With all due respect to The Wrong Trousers, The Mighty River should have either shared the Academy Award or won it outright. I'm very fond of and impressed by the Wallace and Grommit short, but The Mighty River, like its subject (the St. Lawrence River) is magnificent.It bears a great many similarities to The Man Who Planted Trees. Given that the same man directed both and had many of the same people working on both films, the fact that they are similar is not surprising. Both films feature narration, with Donald Sutherland doing the honors here. The incredible attention to detail is here as well and is, if anything, even more remarkable in The Mighty River. Animals of all sorts are depicted with loving care and attention, from fish swimming the river through bears and seals on to birds taking wing.The Mighty River is a look at the history (and the reckless abuse by over-harvesting of) the river. It is really one long love note to not only a great river, but to nature herself. If mankind is to prosper, nature must prosper as well, for our continued well-being is inextricably connected with the ecosystem around us. The message is that we must stop doing damage immediately. If we want to help nature recover more rapidly, that's fine. But if we'd stop sticking our finger in nature's eyes, the ecosphere is generally quite capable of healing itself-if the damage stops.Remarkable and beautiful film that is in print, available and deserves to be seen by more people. Most highly recommended.