Have whalers literally been attacked by sperm whales? Have some people developed relationships with whales?

I watched In the Heart of the Sea, which is basically the story of Moby Dick, and am wondering if any kind of whale would actually act this way. There are plenty of whale movies where they give the animal some kind of human trait. Not just revenge, but friendship too, as seen in a movie called The Tadpole and the Whale. Or again in Orca, in which a killer whale seeks to fight it out with a guy who killed his female partner and baby.

I heard sperm whales have big brains, that killer whales are extremely smart, and so forth. But how true to life are whale movies? Have people taken territorial whale behaviors, kin protection and adaptation too far, as is always the case with movies? Or is there some truth?

If I’m to get a hint at this question from the millions of shark movies I’ve seen, then whales on the big screen are probably bs, too. But one wonders…generally, whale movies are more thought out than your typical horror movie involving sharks.
That I think Moby Dick has more honor than any man alive, it got me wondering. Whether it’s revenge, friendship or whatever else, do whales, any type, actually act like they do in movies?

Topics: movies, animals, behavior, nature, whales, adaptation, thar she blows