Disney: See our movie, help save a coral reef

Maybe its just because I have scuba diving on the brain, but I was intrigued this week at the movie theater by the trailer for the Disneynature Oceans film coming out in April 2010 during the Earth Day week.

It wasn't just because of the content of the trailer, which is pretty spectacular, it was because of the unique tie-in that the company has established with The Nature Conservancy.

Here's the proposition: If you go see the movie during the first week (from April 22 to April 28), the Disney company's sustainability foundation will make a contribution to the Nature Conservancy. The money will specifically be designated for a program that backs the expansion and management of marine parks through Adopt a Coral Reef. The program aims to double the acreage of marine parks in the Bahamas (as a first step), which means it would be protecting about 500,000 underwater acres. The Bahamas project launches on Feb. 1, 2010, but the Adopt a Coral Reef program actually began almost 20 years ago in 1991.

Certainly, this won't be as big a movie as something like Avatar, but it's an interesting way to build box-office and support a decent cause. Seems like smart business to me.

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com