Wonderful character development!

Some things I liked some I did not.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Like other people commenting, this is a short who's imagery has stayed with me for more than 20 years. I saw it in an art theater in Georgetown, Washington DC. I particularly remember the haunting language used by the creatures. You understood everything they were feeling and saying without knowing a thing about the language. The vivid scenery was also haunting and gorgeous. I had to wait until the computer game Myst before seeing something as well done. I have been searching and searching for a copy without knowing the title, using terms like "whale, white, animation, short, hunt, fly, world, air." Nothing ever came up until today and now I know what I'm looking for! But I can't seem to find anywhere that offers a copy. Echoing the commenter before me, where, oh where can we buy one?

Oh thank God for IMDb. This movie has stayed with me since I first saw it as a teenager but I could never remember what it was called. On an off-chance I tried doing a Google searching for "animated movie floating island hunt" as that was pretty much all I could remember. A few links later and I found a few images from this movie and a link to IMDb.I remember the movie leaving me open-mouthed at the end and I have told so many people about it. I remember the animation being way ahead of its time but maybe that's just false memory ;)Is there ANY way to buy a copy???

I thought I saw this before 1983 but what the heck. It was a trailer to some main billing at my local cinema and it totally captured my imagination; so much so I can't remember the main film. Finally, through the wonders of the internet I managed to get a copy on NTSC video from the states and yes, it's stood the test of time. It has lost none of it's charm. A great short animation. What really made me realise this was a simple story told well was that my 3 year old daughter watched it and was moved to tears (though she couldn't say why). Recommended.

Skywhales is a strange but very deep animated short. It opens on an unknown alien world and in a tribal village floating high in the sky. During the hunting season, many of the village's males go out in airships to hunt the massive skywhales. The father figure of the film's central family is one such hunter. But hunting the massive creatures carries many risks, including a strange curse that turns a random hunter into a ghastly white zombie.Despite the film's shortness and the characters' alien language, Skywhales has a certain depth to it. You can see and feel the world surrounding the film. The people seen in this film seem to have a living culture and a real language, and despite not being able to understand them, you can still feel and see their emotions. If you ever find a tape of the first international tournee of animation, you should check this short out. It is very deep and very cool.