Morning Light

PG

Released Oct 17, 2008

1h 40m

Documentary

List

33%

Tomatometer

33 Reviews

50%

Audience Score

250+ Ratings

Fifteen young men and women prepare for the adventure of their lives when they enter the TRANSPAC, one of the world's most prestigious open-ocean sailing competitions. They begin their training in Hawaii with world-class teachers, but it is the race itself, a 2,300-mile ordeal featuring top professionals, that molds them into a cohesive whole.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Aug 22

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Disney+

Watch Morning Light with a subscription on Disney+, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Critics Consensus

Breathtaking scenery aside, Morning Light is geared more for the sailing enthusiasts than for the average viewers.

Read Critics Reviews

Nell Minow

Movie Mom

Rated: B-

Feb 18, 2012

Full Review

Roger Moore

Orlando Sentinel

Rated: 3/5

May 13, 2009

Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan

Washington Post

Morning Light is a sunny, saltwater-splashed tale of inspiration.

Oct 17, 2008

Full Review

Bill Gibron

PopMatters

(T)his may be one of those achievements in human endurance that doesn't elicit cheers, but sneers. It's just too picture perfected to be powerful.

Rated: 2.5/5

Jul 12, 2009

Full Review

Peter Canavese

Groucho Reviews

A vanity project...[but also] a sincere love letter to sailing, as seen through the eyes of a handful of very lucky youngsters. [Blu-ray]

Rated: 2.5/4

Jun 28, 2009

Full Review

Rhiannon Sawyer

FILMINK (Australia)

Any time...personal history is touched upon, it is quickly shoved under the carpet in favor of yet another sailing montage, complete with compulsory sunset.

Mar 13, 2009

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Member

A sports documentary about a group of college aged students who compete in the sailing competition known as the TRANSPAC. This film was produced by Roy E. Disney, who is a sailing enthusiast and felt heavily scripted, somewhat like a reality show with less drama. As someone who knows very little about the sport of sailing, I would have appreciated more explanations of the roles each person plays on the boat. There were also a few too many people to truly get to know during the run time of the film, so the connection with the audience isn't strong. There are a few great character moments with raw emotion and it is interesting to see what it takes to sail from California to Hawaii. If you are into sports documentaries or this subject matter interests you, then this movie is worth checking out.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Interesting movie about an interesting topic

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Disney needs to stop producing these terrible documentaries. Entirely too long for a movie this boring. Completely unwatchable. (First and only viewing - 2/3/2011)

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A well done documentary regarding a very talented group of young people, sailing as a team in the TransPac race from SoCal to Hawaii. Very well told story - concisely done, yet adequate time is given to selection of crew, training and the actual race.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

a bit too disneyfied for my taste (especially the terribly awkward final credit sequence featuring members of the crew in a recording studio a la "saved by the bell"), but the story is a good one anyway.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

If you've never sailed, you shouldn't watch this movie. If you think this was intended to be a blockbuster... to be judged on sales figures, pretty faces, star names... please stay away; you'd have no reference point nor would you, understandably, have the slightest reason to be interested in its content. If you have sailed, on the other hand, you know exactly what it's about. It's not about editing or a story line. Even if it was just a story told around the dinner table or at a bar near some seaside, to a sailor it would be moving and engaging. Beautiful views, settings, situations - the thrills, the frustrations - that can only be experienced from the vantage point of a boat being thrashed about on the vast, open sea. For what it was intended to be, this documentary hits the target.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Mark Monroe

Director

Chris Branning

Actor

Graham Brant-Zawadzki

Actor

Chris Clark

Actor

Roy E. Disney

Actor

Charlie Enright

Actor

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

90%

87%

The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story

96%

87%

Deep Water

60%

90%

Dust to Glory

84%

83%

Mad Hot Ballroom

100%

93%

Racing Dreams

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Fifteen young men and women prepare for the adventure of their lives when they enter the TRANSPAC, one of the world's most prestigious open-ocean sailing competitions. They begin their training in Hawaii with world-class teachers, but it is the race itself, a 2,300-mile ordeal featuring top professionals, that molds them into a cohesive whole.

Director: Mark Monroe
Producer: Leslie DeMeuse, Roy E. Disney
Screenwriter: Mark Monroe
Distributor: Walt Disney
Production Co: Walt Disney Pictures
Rating: PG (Some Language)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 17, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $275.1K
Runtime: 1h 40m

Most Popular at Home Now