Meet Barbie Pig: the deep-sea star heading to cinemas

Published 9 hours agoon September 29, 2026

A neon-pink sea cucumber nicknamed “Barbie Pig” is among the unlikely stars of a new documentary revealing the extraordinary creatures living thousands of metres beneath the Pacific Ocean.

How Deep Is Your Love, directed by Eleanor Mortimer, follows a team of Natural History Museum scientists as they explore the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a vast and little-known region of the Pacific between Hawaii and Mexico.

Reaching the seabed is no small feat. The team uses the remotely operated vehicle Isis, which takes around five hours to descend some 5,000 metres into a world without sunlight.

What it finds is anything but dull.

Alongside the bright pink Barbie Pig are an array of wonderfully strange deep-sea inhabitants with equally memorable nicknames, including the “Headless Chicken Monster” and “Psychedelic Elvis Worm”. Many of the species found in this remote environment are still unknown to science.

But behind the film’s playful characters lies a more serious story. The Clarion-Clipperton Zone contains vast deposits of polymetallic nodules rich in minerals, making the region a focus of interest for potential deep-sea mining. Scientists are working to understand and document its biodiversity while huge questions remain about how mining could affect these fragile ecosystems.

The documentary combines spectacular deep-sea imagery with the scientists’ excitement at encountering animals few people will ever see, inviting audiences to connect with one of the least explored parts of our planet.

How Deep Is Your Love opens in UK and Irish cinemas on 2 October 2026.

Source: Natural History Museum / The Guardian / How Deep Is Your Love

Jane Morgan

Jane’s lifelong love for the ocean began in childhood and has shaped the course of her life and career. After learning to dive in 1991, she spent much of the '90s teaching scuba and working on marine conservation projects in the Philippines and Borneo. A chance encounter with a film camera on a dive trip to Egypt in 2001 ignited a passion for underwater photography, inspiring her to leave the corporate world and pursue a full-time career in dive travel and photojournalism. Since then, her work has been published in a wide range of national and international magazines, books, and newspapers. She has filmed underwater for the BBC, judged major photography competitions, and received numerous accolades—including the prestigious Plongeur d'Or at the Festival Mondial de l'Image Sous-Marine. In 2009, Jane became a freelance photojournalist, and in 2011 completed a BA (Hons) in Marine and Natural History Photography at Falmouth University, where she now works as a Dive Safety Officer. Based in Cornwall, Jane dives locally year-round and is passionate about showcasing the rich marine life found in UK waters. As a proud ambassador for Dynamic Nord and Fathoms Free, she actively supports marine conservation initiatives and advocates for ocean protection through her storytelling. In her newest role with Scubaverse, Jane combines her love of travel, diving, and storytelling—sharing experiences from around the world to inspire others to explore, protect, and connect with the underwater world.