The Walrus and the Whistleblower

Name: The Walrus and the Whistleblower
Genre: Documentary

Canada · 2020
1h 28m
Director Nathalie Bibeau
Starring Phil Demers, John Holer, Joe Rogan
Genre Documentary

Phil Demers, an animal trainer at Marineland, becomes an unlikely whistleblower and is sued for $1.5 million for plotting to steal a walrus. The ensuing legal battle leads Demers to fall down the rabbit hole of a personal quest while exposing the mistreatment of animals in theme parks.

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What are critics saying?

Film Threat by Alex Saveliev

As it stands, it’s not much of an indictment. As honorable as her intentions may be, Bibeau ends up blowing the whistle so incessantly, it sort of leaves you deaf.

IndieWire by Eric Kohn

While the movie gets a little too lost in Demers’ headspace, his story brings to light the limitations of the “Blackfish” effect, and shows why the war against marine park cruelty has a long way to go.

The Hollywood Reporter by Inkoo Kang

Incomplete-feeling film, which inadvertently illustrates how empathy without balance can obscure truth.

The New York Times by Natalia Winkelman

Frustratingly, the documentary declines to probe Demers’s evolving relationship to his activism and newfound fame.