Fred, Wilma and Bamm-Bamm. No, not the Flinstones. Actually, they are three giant animatronic gray whales created by Glasshammer, Visual Effects for director Ken Kwapis for Big Miracle. The film is based on the true story of three whales that united enemies and helped usher the growth of the media and technology throughout the world.

Based on the book “Freeing the Whales” by journalist Thomas Rose, Big Miracle follows the rescue of a family of majestic gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle in Alaska. Animal-loving volunteer (Drew Barrymore of 50 First Dates, He’s Just Not That Into You), a small-town news reporter (John Krasinski of The Office, It’s Complicated), and a native Alaskan boy (newcomer Ahmaogak Sweeney) rally together an unlikely coalition that includes oil companies, locals of the town of Barrow in Alaska, and the rival world superpowers of the United States and Russia. They frantically dig miles of holes and push ice aside with the Soviet icebreaker to attempt the seemingly impossible and bridge a four mile gap. As the world’s attention turns to the top of the globe for two weeks, saving these endangered animals becomes a shared cause for nations entrenched against one another and leads to an unexpected, momentary thaw in the Cold War.

“This was before the Berlin Wall came down,” said Bonnie Mersinger Carroll, technical advisor for Big Miracle. “So this contact between America and the Soviet Union would prove extraordinary. It was a step toward world peace at the time.”

Kwapis said the film covers the media circus that descended upon the trapped whales, but its main focus is on the strange and wondrous alliances made where all sides put away their agendas to help the trapped whales.

“We thought that given what was happening in the world at the time, this story would resonate well in the present,” producer Michael Sugar said. “Even though it is several years old, it is relevant as a story of modern humanity and shows the spirit of change.”

Barrymore admitted that the blending of so many people united in a common cause despite an inhospitable environment piqued her interest in the film.
“They did something lovely, something kind, by putting history or opinions away for just a minute in a very quiet, but public way,” Barrymore said.

The film, itself, gives Alaskan natives a chance to unite with crew members and actors from around the world. The makers fought to have the movie shot in Alaska for the purpose of hiring the indigenous people of Alaska in the roles Iñupiat residents of Barrow.

“Big Miracle is perhaps the only major studio film to shoot entirely in Alaska,” Kwapis reflected. “On many levels, we all felt we were exploring new territory. A filmmaker usually chooses a location for its physical beauty. I lobbied to shoot in Alaska for another reason: the people.

Filmmakers cast real whalers to play the whale hunters and cast many people who were in Barrow at the time of the event, hoping to present the Iñupiat characters and their culture as honestly as possible, without patronizing or romanticizing them.

“Most of the Alaska natives we cast were non-actors,” Kwapis said. “But all of them were naturally gifted. What was wonderful in some cases was that we actually got real whalers to play whaling captains and elders to play elders.”

One of those actors, a young man named John Pingayak cast as the character of Malik, said he saw the role as an opportunity to teach the world about his people and their ways.

“We are still here, we are still alive and thriving,” Pingayak said. “We have lived on our land for 10,000 years, with the same traditions and struggles. We want to keep it alive in a modern world, and for the world to see us as we still are. This film was a way to unite us all.”