White Wilderness
Encyclopedia
White Wilderness is an Academy Award-winning nature documentary
produced by Walt Disney Productions in 1958 noted for its splendid visuals as well as its propagation of the myth of lemming
suicide.
The film was directed by James Algar
and narrated by Winston Hibler
. It was filmed on location in Canada
over the course of three years. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
. There have been some reports that the Disney film describes this as an actual suicidal action by the lemmings, but the narrator in the film states that the lemmings are likely not attempting suicide, but rather are migrating and upon encountering water, attempt to cross it. If the water they attempt to cross is too wide, they suffer exhaustion and drown.
In 1982, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
news magazine The Fifth Estate
broadcast a documentary about animal cruelty in Hollywood, focusing on White Wilderness as well as the television program Wild Kingdom
. Bob McKeown
, the host of the CBC program, found that the lemming scene was filmed at the Bow River
near downtown Calgary
and not at the Arctic Ocean as implied by the film. He found out that the lemmings did not voluntarily jump into the river but were pushed in by a rotating platform installed by the film crew. He also interviewed a lemming expert who claimed that the particular species of lemming shown in the film is not known to migrate, much less commit mass suicide. He also discovered that footage of a polar bear
cub falling down an Arctic ice slope was really filmed in a Calgary film studio.
It remains unclear if Walt Disney
was notified or approved of the lemming incident.
White Wilderness was the inspiration for 1988 Dead Kennedys
song Potshot Heard Round the World
.
The film also inspired the theme of the video game Lemmings
.
Nature documentary
A natural history film or wildlife film is a documentary film about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures, usually concentrating on film taken in their natural habitat...
produced by Walt Disney Productions in 1958 noted for its splendid visuals as well as its propagation of the myth of lemming
Lemming
Lemmings are small rodents, usually found in or near the Arctic, in tundra biomes. They are subniveal animals, and together with voles and muskrats, they make up the subfamily Arvicolinae , which forms part of the largest mammal radiation by far, the superfamily Muroidea, which also includes rats,...
suicide.
The film was directed by James Algar
James Algar
James Algar was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He received the Disney Legends award in 1998.He was born in Modesto, California and died in Carmel, California.-Selected filmography:...
and narrated by Winston Hibler
Winston Hibler
Winston Hibler was an American screenwriter, film producer and director.He was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and died in Burbank, California.-Selected filmography:* Seal Island...
. It was filmed on location in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
over the course of three years. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Controversy
White Wilderness contains a scene that supposedly depicts a mass lemming migration, and ends with the lemmings leaping into the Arctic OceanArctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
. There have been some reports that the Disney film describes this as an actual suicidal action by the lemmings, but the narrator in the film states that the lemmings are likely not attempting suicide, but rather are migrating and upon encountering water, attempt to cross it. If the water they attempt to cross is too wide, they suffer exhaustion and drown.
In 1982, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
news magazine The Fifth Estate
The fifth estate
the fifth estate is a Canadian television newsmagazine, which airs on the English language CBC Television network. The name is a play on the fact that the media are sometimes referred to as the Fourth Estate, and was chosen to highlight the program's determination to go beyond everyday news into...
broadcast a documentary about animal cruelty in Hollywood, focusing on White Wilderness as well as the television program Wild Kingdom
Wild Kingdom
Wild Kingdom, sometimes known as Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, is an American television show that features wildlife and nature. It was originally produced from 1963 until 1988, and was revived in 2002...
. Bob McKeown
Bob McKeown
Robert "Bob" McKeown is an investigative reporter with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He has also worked with NBC and CBS. McKeown returned to the CBC in November 2002 to host its investigative programme, the fifth estate, a show which he had hosted from 1981 to 1990...
, the host of the CBC program, found that the lemming scene was filmed at the Bow River
Bow River
The Bow River is a river in the Canadian province of Alberta. It is a tributary of the South Saskatchewan River, and is considered the headwater of the Nelson River....
near downtown Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
and not at the Arctic Ocean as implied by the film. He found out that the lemmings did not voluntarily jump into the river but were pushed in by a rotating platform installed by the film crew. He also interviewed a lemming expert who claimed that the particular species of lemming shown in the film is not known to migrate, much less commit mass suicide. He also discovered that footage 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...
cub falling down an Arctic ice slope was really filmed in a Calgary film studio.
It remains unclear if Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
was notified or approved of the lemming incident.
In popular culture
The scene of lemmings leaping off a cliff in White Wilderness was used as political metaphor in a campaign ad promoting Andrew Monroe Rice, an Oklahoma candidate in the 2008 US Senate race.White Wilderness was the inspiration for 1988 Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....
song Potshot Heard Round the World
Bedtime for Democracy
Bedtime for Democracy is the fourth album released by Dead Kennedys. Songs on this album cover such common punk subjects as conformity, Reaganomics, the military, and even criticizing aspects of their own punk movement. The title of the album is a reference to the 1951 comedy film, Bedtime for...
.
The film also inspired the theme of the video game Lemmings
Lemmings (video game)
Lemmings is a puzzle computer game developed by DMA Design and published by Psygnosis in . Originally developed for PC and Commodore Amiga, Lemmings was one of the most popular computer games of its time, and several gaming magazines gave it some of their highest review scores at the time...
.
External links
- White Wilderness video at YouTube
- "Lemmings" political ad at YouTube