Saluting ‘Captain Planet’: film explores Jacques Cousteau’s conservation legacy

French adventurer revolutionised undersea film-making and sounded early alarm over oceans' destruction

He was the French adventurer who plumbed the depths of the world's oceans to introduce us to a magical and previously unseen universe under the sea. Commander Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the former naval officer turned inventor of the Aqualung and scuba equipment and then television explorer, became a hero to generations of children who were mesmerised by his adventures and groundbreaking films.

Now a new documentary explores his life and legacy, showing how more than half a century ago Cousteau sounded the alarm over the destruction of the oceans, which he saw as vital to the future of the human race.