Ron Howard always wanted to visit the Galápagos. In the director’s mind, it was a “bucket list” destination before there was a movie called The Bucket List . When we catch up with the Oscar-winning filmmaker, he even points out that he dreamed about this well ahead of his frequent collaborator and friend Paul Bettany filming Master & Commander there, and reporting back on the flightless birds.

“My fascination started with National Geographic magazine as a kid,” Howard says over a Zoom conversation. “I loved the marine iguanas because they look like marine dinosaurs to me. So I had always wanted to go, and by the way it’s an amazing place to go.”

But when Howard finally did visit (along with a family that includes daughter Bryce Dallas Howard among its ranks), a funny thing occurre

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