Lovers of the ocean, the octopus and unique documentaries will be pleased by Octopus!, the new hybrid documentary from Prime Video. It blends interviews, random news and other found footage and charming stop-motion sequences to follow the life of a Giant Pacific Octopus and the people who study, observe and love them.

 

This eight-part edu-tainment documentary is smart, sassy, a little bit sweet and - thanks to narrator Phoebe Waller-Bridge - even quite spicy at times. Its ultimate message is that octopuses don’t have to be like us for us to care about them - and that we SHOULD care about them.

 

Octopus! is unlike any other ocean documentary I’ve seen - and I’ve watched a bunch. Between Niharika Desai’s whimsical direction, Gabriel Bisset-Smith’s script and Waller-Bridge’s uniquely charismatic delivery of the narration, the film accomplishes a lot in the first two episodes - the only ones this writer has been able to watch. 

 

Along with plenty of fascinating octopi themselves, there are also interesting human characters, including quirky scientists, celebrity cameos and the giggliest oceanographer imaginable. 

 

The film-makers were extremely effective with their documentary and entertainment hybrid. One line that brings this to light: A scientist describes an octopus in this way: “Imagine a tongue - now make that an animal.” I’ve never heard them described this way, and it is perfect.

 

Perhaps it is fitting that I watched the two-part Octopus! on Mother’s Day weekend, as a significant portion of the story is given to documenting the Giant Pacific Octopus’ journey as a female seeking a mate, laying her eggs and then making the ultimate sacrifice: devoting the rest of her life to caring for them while wasting away and dying. Yes, every octopus mother gives her life for her young…

 

…Right after she kills and eats their dad during or after sex. See what I mean about spicy? I loved the way Waller-Bridge worked in tones of feminism and humor through her iconic delivery. There’s even a nod to Fleabag here: “This is not a love story.”

 

Ultimately, octopuses are described in the documentary as smart, mysterious, charismatic, vulnerable, weird, beautiful, ugly and sexy. While they’re often described as alien-like, Octopus! cautions that they are more like us than we realize. They can use tools, navigate mazes, solve puzzles and recognize specific humans.

 

While octopuses have short lives and never know their young, we learn in this documentary that “Anything alive on this planet is connected to us. Octopuses are not alien to us - they are part of the ocean, and no matter where you are on this planet, you need the ocean to survive. We are connected to it and we need it.”

 

Octopus! will be a delight for fans of octopuses, ocean documentaries and all things Phoebe Waller-Bridge touches.