Young Woman and the Sea – Inspiration for the Next Generation

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YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA Review
(L-R): Jeanette Hain as Gertrud Ederle and Daisy Ridley as Trudy Ederle in Disney's live-action YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA. Photo by Vladisav Lepoev. © 2024 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

If you’re looking for an inspirational movie, look no further than Disney+ this weekend. Their new inspirational sports film Young Woman and the Sea is hitting the streaming network. Young Woman and the Sea tells the story of Trudy Ederle (Daisy Ridley), a young daughter of an immigrant family at the turn of the last century. Trudy is determined to overcome her challenges, live her life her way, and is willing to do what she has to to get her way. After an illness as a child leaves her with hearing problems, Trudy has to fight just for her ability to take swimming lessons. Her love for the water, swimming, and defiant spirit sets her up for success in some of the greatest challenges including participating in the 1924 Summer Olympics and later being the first woman to successfully swim across the English Channel.

YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA Review
(L-R): Jeanette Hain as Gertrud Ederle, Daisy Ridley as Trudy Ederle, and Kim Bodnia as Henry Ederle in Disney’s live-action YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA. Photo by Elena Nenkova. © 2024 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The movie takes you through Trudy’s life from her childhood battle with the measles to her battles later on against the societal norms and even the adversity showing the strength she had to endure daily just to compete. It makes Trudy’s story not only an inspirational sports film but one that shows the power of character as well.

A good sports movie always has the same elements – an underdog you can get behind and root for, a story that makes an impact, and an over-arching narrative that audiences won’t get bored with. Coming in at just over two hours, Disney’s new sports movie thankfully checks all of the boxes. Does Young Woman the Sea have the re-watchability of other Disney sports films like Cool Runnings, Remember the Titans, and Million Dollar Arm? For some audiences, absolutely.

YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA Review
(L-R): Daisy Ridley as Trudy Ederle and Stephen Graham as Bill Burgess in Disney’s live-action YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA. Photo courtesy of Disney. © 2024 Disney Enterprises Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The movie is a nice change of pace and seems to hit all of the major things you’d want in a historical sports movie. It shows Trudy’s fight against patriarchal norms and the expectations of the time, her fight for equality in the sporting world, her battles against illness and her disability, and her inspiring changes in others. It also may have you wondering when the last Ticker-Tape parade was (spoiler it was 2021) and why we don’t see them as often anymore.

As far as sports movies go, they will definitely hit that inspirational itch you are looking for. While the stories of Trudy Ederle and other athletes of the past could easily be lost to the tides of time, the underdog-type movie will always do well with audiences. Thankfully the movie doesn’t feel too much like a sports movie and isn’t focused on the mechanics of the sport alone. Instead, it focuses on Trudy’s desire to overcome whatever challenge was given to her and how that changed the face fo sports for women even today.

Young Woman and the Sea begins streaming exclusively on Disney+ on Friday, July 19th.

Overall Rating

Four Star Review

About Young Woman and the Sea

YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA Review
YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA – © 2024 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Disney’s “Young Woman and the Sea,” the extraordinary true story of Trudy Ederle, the first woman to successfully swim the English Channel, will begin streaming on Disney+ July 19. Daisy Ridley stars as the accomplished swimmer who was born to immigrant parents in New York City in 1905. Through the steadfast support of her older sister and supportive trainers, she overcame adversity and the animosity of a patriarchal society to rise through the ranks of the Olympic swimming team and complete the staggering achievement – a 21-mile trek from France to England. 

“Young Woman and the Sea,” which also stars Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Stephen Graham, Kim Bodnia, Christopher Eccleston, and Glenn Fleshler, is directed by Joachim Rønning and written by Jeff Nathanson, based on the book “Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World” by Glenn Stout. The producers are Jerry Bruckheimer, Chad Oman, and Jeff Nathanson, with John G. Scotti, Daisy Ridley, and Joachim Rønning serving as executive producers. 

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