The Whale, a Canadian documentary by Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfit, has been picked up for U.S. releasing  by indie distributor Paladin.

Besides the story about a young orca whale who tries to make friends with humans off the B.C. coast, the big draw for The Whale is narration by Ryan Reynolds, who executive produced the picture with Scarlett Johansson.

Last year’s divorce between Reynolds and Johansson prompted tabloid speculation about how the couple would divvy up the rights to the Canadian documentary, among other joint assets.

The film, which has financing from Telefilm Canada and the Canadian Television Fund, will be released into U.S. theatres starting in the late summer.

Photo: Rennett Stowe, Flickr Creative Commons