This Earth Day, National Geographic is releasing the third instalment of its “Secrets Of” series on Disney+ around the world. Having previously highlighted Elephants and Whales, this year, the focus moves to the strange world of the Octopus.

One of my earliest memories was being on vacation on the Spanish island of Majorica, and some guy on the beach had a wild octopus in his hands. This intrigued me as a child, since it was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Whenever I go to an aquarium, whenever an octopus is on display, it’s always a creature I spend time watching, since they are so weird.

Octopuses are unlike any other creature on this planet, and this show really showcases their unique abilities, of how they hunt, how they hide themselves and how intelligent they actually are.

The previous instalments in the franchise have pulled in major Hollywood stars, Sigourney Weaver and Natalie Portman, to provide the commentary, and this year’s specials are no different, as “Ant-Man” actor Paul Rudd takes us on a journey under the sea. Paul’s soft and gentle voice sets the tone with a relaxed vibe but mixes it up when the drama ramps up without it feeling too childish.

One of the great things about this series is that it features so many different types of octopuses, from small ones living in rock pools in Australia hunting crabs to changing colour in the Caribbean, and colossal giant octopuses living in the cold waters off Vancouver.  We get to see how some octopuses can make themselves look like snakes or fish to hide from hunters and many more amazing tales that you might not realise.

Moving the series around different beautiful locations around the world also helps keep this series more entertaining since they look very different to one another.   Shifting from tropical locations to nighttime, and then to cold water environments helps keep it more visually interesting.

During the series, we get to learn about how they mate, which usually results in them dying shortly after and watching an octopus seemingly dreaming like you might notice with a dog.   These fantastic creatures are incredibly smart, and we see many examples of them using their brains to survive.

The series was created by James Cameron, the director of “Titanic” and “Avatar,” so expect to see some of the most stunning photography involving octopuses from around the world.   In the final episode, we get to see James talking with Dr Alex, talking about some of the most impressive discoveries during the series, which is a nice touch to close off the show.

Overall: “Secrets Of The Octopus” is a fantastic series that will no doubt give you an insight into one of the most bizarre animals on the planet.  I’ve always been fascinated by these creatures, and this series certainly showcases how different they are from other sea animals.   If you’ve ever wanted to know more about octopuses, then this show is for you. 

Rating: 4 Out Of 5

All three episodes of “Secrets Of The Octopus” will be released on Disney+ on Earth Day on Monday, 22nd April 2024.

Are you looking forward to watching “Secrets Of The Octopus”? Let us know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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