Jonathan Livingston Seagull (film) Jonathan Livingston Seagull (film) Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a 1973 American drama film directed by Hall Bartlett, adapted from the novella of the same name by Richard Bach. The film tells the story of a young seabird who, after being cast out by his stern flock, goes on an odyssey to discover how to break the limits of his own flying speed. The film was produced by filming actual seagulls, then superimposing human dialogue over it. The film's voice actors included James Franciscus in the title role, and Philip Ahn as his mentor, Chang. Whereas the original novella was a
Jonathon McKenna friends". Jonathon got on well with his sister, Rachel (Angela Bloomfield), but they were competitive; he was, "protective of his baby sister but often finds himself competing wither her for parental funds and attention." Jonathon was also described as naive, he was "by no means cruel but his arrogant flippancy cuts like a knife. Having never experienced rejection and self-doubt, Jonathon is blithely ignorant of the emotional pain of others." A backstory was established between Jonathon and Nick Harrison (Karl Burnett) which saw the two clash in several story lines. Jonathon was classed as more "sophisticated" than the "perennially adolescent"