Samson & Sally
Encyclopedia
Samson & Sally is a Danish
feature-length animated film made in 1984. It was directed by Jannik Hastrup
and based on the novel The Song of the Whales by Danish author Bent Haller. The story is darker than most animated films of the time.
male Sperm whale
named Samson who strongly believes the legendary tales of Moby Dick. The legends say that Moby Dick was a hero for all whales, and that he will someday return. He meets Sally, a young black-and-white female sperm whale who is orphaned after her pod is slaughtered by whaler
s. Samson's pod adopts Sally and she befriends Samson even though she does not believe in Moby Dick. Samson and Sally together survive certain dangers, such as killer whales, a massive oil
slick, radiation poisoning
, and whaling ships, which they refer to as "iron beasts." Eventually Samson and Sally fall in love with each other. Samson's mother is later killed by the whalers, greatly upsetting Samson. Samson decides to leave Sally and his pod to search for Moby Dick and convince him to try to save whales from whalers and the "iron beasts." After nearly dying several times, due to humans causing water pollution, Samson finds Moby Dick in the underwater ruins of New York
, only to find that Moby Dick is senile, and too old to even forage
for himself. Disappointed, Samson leaves to try and find his pod. After days of searching, he gives up all hope of finding his pod, just before seeing them on the horizon. The film ends with a scene set decades later, with Samson and Sally as adult whales, caring for a single son, whom Samson saves from a killer whale.
on VHS
by Just For Kids Home Video
in 1990. This version has edited opening credits, a scene of a polar bear
trying to pull a killed seal onto land and the seagull defecating on a whaler after tying him up removed. This version is also pan-and-scan.
In the United Kingdom
, it was released on VHS by independent distributor Parkfield Publishing in 1989. This version is uncut and retains its original aspect ratio but is now extremely rare, possibly due to the low number of copies printed.
In Denmark
, the DVD
version was released on August 20, 2007. Despite its packaging stating an anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer, Dolby Digital
5.1 Danish audio, and additional Swedish
, Finnish
and Norwegian
subtitles, it contains a non-anamorphic 1.66:1 transfer and Danish-only audio and subtitles for the hearing impaired. There are no extras.
The film has never been released on DVD outside of Europe
.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
feature-length animated film made in 1984. It was directed by Jannik Hastrup
Jannik Hastrup
Jannik Hastrup is a Danish writer, director, producer, illustrator and animator. He is considered "Denmark's grand master of animation", as he is particularly well-known for directing, animating and writing several animated films, occasionally with Flemming Quist Møller, including Benny's Bathtub,...
and based on the novel The Song of the Whales by Danish author Bent Haller. The story is darker than most animated films of the time.
Plot
The film revolves around a young albinoAlbinism
Albinism is a congenital disorder characterized by the complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes due to absence or defect of an enzyme involved in the production of melanin...
male Sperm whale
Sperm Whale
The sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, is a marine mammal species, order Cetacea, a toothed whale having the largest brain of any animal. The name comes from the milky-white waxy substance, spermaceti, found in the animal's head. The sperm whale is the only living member of genus Physeter...
named Samson who strongly believes the legendary tales of Moby Dick. The legends say that Moby Dick was a hero for all whales, and that he will someday return. He meets Sally, a young black-and-white female sperm whale who is orphaned after her pod is slaughtered by whaler
Whaler
A whaler is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former included the whale catcher, a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bows. The latter included such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early...
s. Samson's pod adopts Sally and she befriends Samson even though she does not believe in Moby Dick. Samson and Sally together survive certain dangers, such as killer whales, a massive oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
slick, radiation poisoning
Radiation poisoning
Acute radiation syndrome also known as radiation poisoning, radiation sickness or radiation toxicity, is a constellation of health effects which occur within several months of exposure to high amounts of ionizing radiation...
, and whaling ships, which they refer to as "iron beasts." Eventually Samson and Sally fall in love with each other. Samson's mother is later killed by the whalers, greatly upsetting Samson. Samson decides to leave Sally and his pod to search for Moby Dick and convince him to try to save whales from whalers and the "iron beasts." After nearly dying several times, due to humans causing water pollution, Samson finds Moby Dick in the underwater ruins of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, only to find that Moby Dick is senile, and too old to even forage
Forage
Forage is plant material eaten by grazing livestock.Historically the term forage has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used more loosely to include similar plants cut for fodder and carried to the animals, especially...
for himself. Disappointed, Samson leaves to try and find his pod. After days of searching, he gives up all hope of finding his pod, just before seeing them on the horizon. The film ends with a scene set decades later, with Samson and Sally as adult whales, caring for a single son, whom Samson saves from a killer whale.
Availability
Samson & Sally was first released in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
by Just For Kids Home Video
Celebrity Home Entertainment
Celebrity Home Entertainment , founded by Noel C. Bloom , was a home video distributor specializing in mostly obscure material from around the world, as well as B-grade action films and soft-core adult fare, although they also released some material that...
in 1990. This version has edited opening credits, a scene of a polar bear
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
trying to pull a killed seal onto land and the seagull defecating on a whaler after tying him up removed. This version is also pan-and-scan.
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, it was released on VHS by independent distributor Parkfield Publishing in 1989. This version is uncut and retains its original aspect ratio but is now extremely rare, possibly due to the low number of copies printed.
In Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
version was released on August 20, 2007. Despite its packaging stating an anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer, Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital is the name for audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. It was originally called Dolby Stereo Digital until 1994. Except for Dolby TrueHD, the audio compression is lossy. The first use of Dolby Digital was to provide digital sound in cinemas from 35mm film prints...
5.1 Danish audio, and additional Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
and Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
subtitles, it contains a non-anamorphic 1.66:1 transfer and Danish-only audio and subtitles for the hearing impaired. There are no extras.
The film has never been released on DVD outside of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.