The film documents the lives of the lesser flamingos on the isolated shores of Lake Natron in Tanzania, revealing the breeding and parenting habits of the species. After mating on an immense salt island, the flamingos breed their chicks, who learn to survive and grow up in an extreme and dangerous environment. In the course of their journeys, they encounter marabou storks who prey on eggs and newly born chicks and a spotted hyena who takes no pity on the adult flamingos.
As the film progresses, it focuses on the life of one of the flamingo chicks. The young flamingo teaches herself the key habits of the species. She successfully grows up to become a large, pink feathered bird and survives when the group is attacked by the hyena. Her story shows the strength and determination for life the flamingos have. The film ends by emphasizing the importance of preserving Lake Natron from pollution and exploitation to ensure the survival of the lesser flamingos, as over 80% of birds from this species found in nature were born here.
Release
After the launch of the Disneynature studio in April 2008, the first new production from the studio was revealed to be The Crimson Wing, which would begin international release throughout 2009.[1] However, the first film to be released by Disneynature was the US domestic market release of the BBC Worldwide and Greenlight Media film Earth on Earth Day 2009, making The Crimson Wing the second film to be released by Disneynature.
The world premiere of The Crimson Wing took place on 26 October 2008 at the closing ceremony of the Cinéma Science Festival in Bordeaux, France. Starting on 25 September 2009, The Crimson Wing was released for a limited run in the United Kingdom exclusively through Cineworld cinemas.
The Crimson Wing was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK and France in March 2010. In Italy the film was broadcast on Sky Cinema 1 and 1 HD on 3 April of the same year with the title Il mistero dei fenicotteri rosa. It was then released on DTV in the US on 19 October.
The original recordings of "Arrival of the Birds" and "Transformation" from the soundtrack were used in the last scene of the film The Theory of Everything and in the short film Together Apart from the Cornetto Cupidity Series. In December 2012, the song "Arrival of the Birds" appeared in a commercial for the women's perfume Acqua di Gioia by Giorgio Armani.[3]
The score was originally set to be composed and performed by British singer-songwriter, musician, and producer Imogen Heap, for which she traveled to Tanzania, along with Ward, Aeberhard and crew, during the shooting of the film in 2006 and 2007.[4][5] Due to conflicting timing with the delayed release of the film clashing with the recording of her new album at the time, the task passed on to The Cinematic Orchestra.[6]
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