02x04 - Episode 4

[bunniefuu]

["One Step Closer" playing]

[Jane] "Anthozoa."

I can see why they call it
the Great Barrier Reef.

[Jane] It's beautiful, isn't it?

[David] So many colors and shapes.

There are thousands of
different kinds of Anthozoa.

Anthozoa? Isn't our mission about coral?

-Ant--
-Anthozoa is coral's scientific name,

-right?
-Right.

But aren't we getting a bit too close?

Some of this coral looks really sharp.

It is, but don't worry,
I made some upgrades to our submarine.

-What kind of upgrades?
-Mmm.

[whirring]

[David]
It's an even better view shrunken down.

And now we can get closer to the coral
and figure out what it is.

[David]
What do you mean "what it is?" It's coral.

Our mission is to figure out
if coral is a plant or an animal.

Uh… [chuckles]
…I think it's pretty obvious.

It's a plant. [sighs] Look at it.

The Great Barrier Reef is like
a huge underwater garden.

Just because something looks like
something doesn't mean that's what it is.

See that coral? It has tentacles.

I don't know any plants
that have tentacles.

I still think it's a plant.

What's that coral called?

-Oh, no. [sighs]
-"Oh, no" coral? Strange name.

No. Oh, no, like that's not good.

When coral are hurting,
they turn white like that.

Why are they hurting?

For lots of reasons.
People are fishing and polluting too much.

The ocean is getting warmer and dirtier,
and people touch it when they dive.

That's why we have to figure out
if coral is a plant or an animal.

Because if we can understand the coral,
then we can help it?

Exactly.

[gasps]

Hold on!

-[Greybeard shrieks]
-[David, Jane scream]

Jane, what was that?

It's a parrotfish. I can't believe
we get to see one up close.

Like, way too close. Way too close.

[both scream, grunt]

[shrieks]

[Jane, David screaming]

-[David spits] Blech. [grunts]
-[Jane] Gross.

Are you that hungry?

[grunts]
No, I don't really like "sand-wiches."

-Get it? "Sand-wiches."
-[Maria chuckles]

That's, like, one of my best ones.

Oh, we got it. A lot of it.
And I didn't know parrotfish ate coral.

That's not good.
The reef's already in danger.

Let me guess, coral reef mission?

What's it in danger from?

Just now? Parrotfish.
But also from the ocean getting warmer.

-And overfishing.
-[Jane] Right.

Less pollution and fishing would be better
for all ocean animals. Like coral.

They're plants, Jane.

We'll see. But we also have to stop
the parrotfish from eating the reef.

[fisher] Crikey.

[Jane] What's he doing?

Is he fishing?

Let's do this.

Now to prove coral's a plant.

[chatters]

-Where'd she go?
-[Maria] That way.

Which way?

She went over to the pier.
Something to do with your mission.

But I'm on the mission.

Let's go, Greybeard.

-Stay where I can see you.
-[David] We will.

[Greybeard shrieking]

Jane! Jane!

Jane, wait up! Jane! [panting]

Jane. Our mission. [gasps, sighs]
Let me catch my breath.

Look, that guy's fishing.
Right next to a "no fishing" sign.

But what about saving the coral reef?

This is about saving the coral reef.
All water is connected.

Fishing where you're not supposed to
is just as bad as overfishing.

[sighs] Blimey.

Yeah, nice and plump.
Bigger than I expected, actually.

Those poor fish.

Yeah, these beauties are real rippers.

Rippers? Rip!
Is that what he's gonna do to them?

Where are you going?

Save those fish. Are you coming or not?

Fine.

Poor fish. Look how many he caught.

[David] The big, middle one's my favorite.

-David.
-We should get your mom.

[sighs] There's no time.

-[gasps]
-Jane, they don't belong to us.

They don't belong to anyone.

When something you know
is wrong is happening,

your only choice is
to do something about it.

Jane Goodall?

No, that was me actually.

[David] Oh, good one. [gasps]

-[breathes heavily] No, no.
-Yes!

Struth. What are you kids doing?

Those fish belong in the water!

What?

What she said.

Jane, wait up!

[scoffs]

[grunts] That was not good, Jane.
Really not good!

No, it was great.

What are we talking about?

-Nothing.
-Really? Doesn't sound like nothing.

Nothing that's more important than
saving the coral from that parrotfish.

Coming, David?

I think I'll stay here
and keep an eye on, uh, the snacks.

[chuckles]

[sighs]

[crunching]

Look, the parrotfish
is still eating the coral.

[chatters]

[crunching]

He's gonna eat all of it.
How do we get it to stop?

-[Greybeard chatters]
-What is it, Greybeard?

What's that sound?

Where's it coming from?

[crunching]

It's the sound of the reef.
It kind of sounds like popping popcorn.

[chatters]

[chuckles]
There's no actual popcorn, Greybeard.

[whines]

I wonder if this means coral is an animal.

Plants don't make noises we can hear.

[chatters]

-[crunching]
-That doesn't sound like popcorn.

That sounds like a parrotfish
chewing endangered coral.

Oh, no, you don't! Brace for impact.

[exclaims]
Find something else to eat, parrotfish!

[grunts] Please stop eating the coral.
It's endangered and you're not.

[shouts]

We've got the parrotfish's attention now.

[chattering]

[Jane] Reverse! Reverse!

[Greybeard chattering, shrieks]

You're right, Greybeard.
We've got nowhere to go.

-[alarm blaring]
-Parrotfish in front of us,

coral behind us.

[whimpers]

-[Jane shouting]
-[Greybeard shrieks]

Super-rescuer David to about-to-be-eaten
Jane and Greybeard, can you hear me?

Yes!

Looks like you have a little problem here.
Let me see if I can help you out.

Here, parrotfishy fishy.

David, you saved us.

Just like you saved those fish.

[Maria] I think you mean stole those fish.

Hello, you little land sharks.

Land sharks?

[grunts] Mom, we didn't steal anything.
He took those fish. We were rescuing them.

Rescuing them? From what?

Didn't you see
the "no fishing" signs at the pier?

There's already too much overfishing
in the ocean,

and it hurts everything that lives there.

Regardless, they weren't yours.

I'm so sorry.

Surprisingly, this is not
the first time she's done this.

Apologize or we're going home.

[sighs]
I'm sorry for putting back the fish

that you weren't supposed to have.

Oh, you're pretty intense, aren't you?

You have no idea.

[fisher] Actually, I think I do.
You know what?

Is it okay if I take these two and show
them what I was really doing at the pier?

[Maria] Are you sure about that?

Yeah, absolutely. Come on. Follow me.

You know, you both remind me of someone.

Who? Is it someone famous?

Or are they from a story?

[stammers] It-It's me.

[David] Hmm.

When I was your age,
I freed a lobster from a trap.

-You did?
-I did.

Did it try to pinch you?

It did. Actually, look,
it left a little scar here.

-[roars] Gotcha.
-[both scream]

Yeah, I was so happy to save
that little guy.

The lobster fisherman,
he was a little bit less happy.

Was he fishing somewhere
he wasn't supposed to?

No, he had a license and everything.

And what I didn't think about was

he had to sell that lobster
to make money for his family.

-Oh.
-[fisher] Yeah.

That day, I learned that things aren't
always as simple as they might seem.

Did you need to sell those fish
to make money for your family?

No. What was I using to catch the fish?

A net?

Exactly. I was using a net, not a hook.

Because once I'm done with the fish,
I throw them back in the water unharmed,

but not before I get the info I need.

Info?

Yeah. See, I measure the fish,
then I weigh them,

take photos of them
so I can make sure they're healthy

and I put it all in this fancy city app
so that we can keep track of them.

You're a scientist?

Uh, sort of. I'm a citizen scientist,

which basically just means
an everyday person

who uses everyday tools
to help the planet.

My research helps us
understand the fish better.

And if we can understand the fish better--

-We can help them!
-Exactly.

"Every day, slowly but surely,

we the people are helping
to change the world."

[chuckles] You like Jane Goodall too?

Oh, oath! I'm a huge fan.

I read all about how she studied
the chimpanzees, like that guy.

-Really?
-Yeah.

His name's Greybeard.

Ah, good day, Greybeard.

I'm sorry we dumped
your research subjects. I just thought--

Oh, yeah. But you didn't ask.

Just because you think something about
someone doesn't mean that you're right.

She said the same thing
when we were on our mission,

and I said the coral looks like
an underwater garden.

You're on a coral mission?

We're trying to figure out
if coral is a plant or an animal.

Well, it sounds like you two might be
citizen scientists too.

That's a great question.

Did you know
that plants make their own food

whilst animals have to eat other things?

So, you're saying coral's a plant?

No, he's saying it's an animal, right?

That's something you're going to
figure out for yourselves.

Let me know what you discover.

Back to our mission?

[chattering]

To finally prove I'm right? Of course.

We're going to make some small upgrades
to your sub.

You had me at "small."

Now that I'm tiny, we can--

See if these coral will eat anything
and prove I'm right.

Not so fast, Jane.

The parrotfish is back.

And it's not happy to see us.

[Greybeard shrieks]

Big button. Big button. Which one
is the get-me-back-to-big button?

I haven't actually made
the get bigger upgrade yet.

-That would have been good to know…
-[alarm blaring]

…before you shrunk me down
to fish food size.

[screaming]

[chattering]

Good idea, Greybeard.

Come on, David.
We can lose the parrotfish in the reef.

[David] Good idea, Jane.

We should be safe down here.

[David] We lost the parrotfish.

Nice thinking, Greybeard.

[chatters]

Look, Jane,
the coral is planted into the ground.

Like-- say it with me now-- plants!

You didn't say it.

Because how do you explain that?

A tentacle isn't proof of anything.

Not by itself. But let's get closer.

Look.
The tentacles are moving that plankton.

What's plankton?

They're tiny living things
that live in the ocean.

[David] Where are they going?

Right into the corals' mouths.

They have mouths?

[Jane] They're just like us.
They eat with their mouths.

Coral eat plankton,
and they don't make their own food.

They eat other things!

David, do you know what this means?

That coral are animals.

Louder.

That coral are animals.

Exactly. Mission accomplished.

-[chatters]
-[clanking]

-[David grunting]
-You okay, David?

[David] I can't break free.

This is bad. Really bad!

That coral thinks he's food.

Watch out for its mouth!

What do you think I'm trying to do?

Help, Jane! Help!

-[screams]
-Hold on, David.

Yes!

Whoo-hoo! You did it. You saved me.

Just like you saved us before.

I love not getting eaten.

-Mom!
-You needed to reapply.

And Max wanted to know if you wanted
to help him measure some fish.

[Jane] Can we?

What else do kid scientists do?

Citizen scientists.

Sorry. Right. Of course. Have fun.

[Jane] Come.

[Max] All right. Let's give him a measure.

[David] I'll enter it into your app.

-There we go. [groans]
-Thanks for your help, Max.

You're the ones helping me.

Because of your clue,
we figured out that coral's an animal.

The coral ate plankton
that was floating in the water

and then tried to eat me

after the parrotfish already tried
to eat me.

I was in a lot of danger today.

The parrotfish was also eating a lot
of coral.

[sighs] That can't be good for the reef.
How do we get it to stop?

You know what? It sounds like you two
might think you know what's going on

when maybe you don't.

What do you mean?

Parrotfish don't eat coral.

They actually eat a plant called algae
that grows on it.

And when they eat the algae,
they're helping to keep the coral clean.

Then why did the parrotfish
chase after us?

Well, we did keep trying to stop it from
doing what it wanted to do, eating.

Maybe it got a little mad?

Hmm. I can relate to that.

[David] So, wait.

The parrotfish is helping the coral,
not hurting it?

Just like you're helping the fish
and not hurting them.

Mm-hmm.

We really do need
to start asking more questions.

Okay. Maybe I need
to start asking more questions.

Smart thinking.

I'll tell you something cool though.
Parrotfish poop sand.

What? [grunts]

So, you're saying that I've been sitting
in fish poop all day?

Yeah. Pretty much.

Fascinating.

Disgusting.

Well, maybe a bit of both.

See, when you think about it,

the parrotfish helps the coral
and then makes sand.

In nature, everything works together.

Just like people should to help the oceans
and the coral reef.

Exactly.

All right. Time for the next fish?

-Absolutely.
-[Max clears throat]

Sand was in my mouth. [groans]

I can't believe it was the coral that
tried to eat me and not the parrotfish.

Sorry, parrotfish. We had you all wrong.

We didn't know you were helping,
not hurting.

[crunching]

Does anyone else suddenly want popcorn?

[chattering]

[chuckles]

[Jane] Help save the coral reef.

I still can't believe some sand
is parrotfish poop.

-[video call ringing]
-[gasps] She's calling!

-What's her name again?
-Natalie Lobartolo.

She's a marine scientist
who knows all about coral reefs.

[both] Hi, Natalie!

Hi, Jane. Hi, David.

Thanks so much for answering my message.

Well, it's not every day I get a question

about where coral's scientific name
comes from.

So, what does "Anthozoa" mean?

Well, the Greek word "ánthos"
means "flower"

and "zôia" means "animals."

Flower? Animals?
So, we were sort of both right.

About what?

We were trying to figure out today
whether coral is an animal or a plant.

Well, I love coral so much
because they're an animal

that also hosts a plant or algae,

and together
they create hard coral structures.

Here. Look at this.

The hard coral structure is home

to millions of diverse marine animals
and plants,

which makes coral
one of the coolest animals there is.

So cool.

[Natalie] The coral reef is like
an underwater solar-powered megacity.

The hard coral structures
are like the apartment buildings,

and the coral animals
are like the tenants that live inside.

They all need one another
to play their part to survive and thrive.

Just like our apartment building.

-Have you always loved coral?
-[Natalie] Always.

Growing up,
I loved looking at things up close.

When you're curious
and you look at things up close,

you can see how fascinating they are.

And that's why
I love sharing the coral reef

with people who have never seen it before.

Close your eyes for a moment.

Think of a beautiful memory
and take a deep breath.

[both breathe deeply, exhale deeply]

That breath wouldn't be possible
without our oceans and reefs.

They're helping to produce the oxygen
that we breathe.

I thought the trees do that.

Trees definitely do it too.

However, half the oxygen we breathe
comes from the ocean,

and ocean health
is supported by coral reefs.

How can we help the coral reefs?

Well, first, you could share
this little breathing exercise

to help people connect to the ocean
through their breath.

And secondly, you could be aware
of your food eco-footprint.

Food eco-footprint?

Here,
let me pull up an image that will help.

Think about where you get your food

and how you can reduce the steps
it takes to get into your belly.

If everyone planted their own tomatoes,
it would help our climate

because there's less plastic packaging,

less transportation to get to stores

and less energy to store it.

All of these actions can help contribute
to helping our reef.

We can start a co-op vegetable garden.

Good idea. We could
get all our neighbors to help out.

That's wonderful.

Thanks so much, Natalie.
Now we know how to help.

Thanks so much for doing your part

and for looking after the oceans
and reefs with me.

-Bye!
-Bye, Natalie!

[gasps] I'll put this up
on my hero wall later.

Mom, we need to start a vegetable garden.

I love that idea,
but let's get in the water first.

I'll go through the escape hatch. [grunts]

[exclaims, chuckles]

["One Step Closer" playing]