Arctic Tale
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Movie Reviews of Arctic Tale
Movie Review: Ice, Ice Babies!
Summary: 4 Stars
I wasn't aware of this film until I saw it recently at a local video store. Seeing that the folks behind "March of the Penquins" were also producing this one, I decided to give it a go and I enjoyed it, though not quite as much as the aforementioned film.
The story follows two newborn animals native to the arctic ice: Nanu, a polar bear cub and Seelah, a walrus calf. Through amazing filming (taking fifteen years to bring this film to life) we follow these two animals from the beginning of their life to adulthood. Nanu, born with a twin brother, follows her mother out of their winter den to wander a nomadic life over the ice. There are constant challenges for these beautiful predators who must find something to eat after spending months under the snow. Besides the possiblity of starving (polar bears are only successful in 1 out of 20 tries to capture prey) there is also the danger of the larger, more powerful male polar bears. Nanu's mother avoids her male counterparts at all costs, knowing the dangers they pose to her vulnerable cubs.
Seelah, the walrus calf, also faces danger from----yes, polar bears. But thankfully for her, she has a caring mother and a protective aunt who watch over her with careful eyes. I loved seeing how tender Seelah's mother was with her, cradling her in her flippers in a seemingly human way. It was interesting, also, to find out that these animals go on a hunt for three days and their main diet consists of clams.
While the story of the two animals and their determination to live in one of the most inhospitable environments on earth is the focus of this movie, the filmakers also make the point of climate change and its effect on this frigid part of the world. While some reviewers might not agree with introducing this politically devisive issue, it is apparent that climate change affects the animals at the top of the world and beyond as well. I think its a good thing to include this message of environmental awareness so that young viewers can be educated to the importance of it in our world and how it will affect its inhabitants---both the four and two legged kind. There is nothing wrong with a child enjoying a film, learning about wildlife in faraway places and also being taught about issues that will effect themselves as well as generations to come.
I think this is a good film for children to see although some might be a bit upset about the cruel realities of nature. A couple of deaths involving both Nanu and Seelah are sad but realistic aspects of these creatures lives. Queen Latifah does a good job narrating the story as it unfolds and the cinematography is beautiful and daring. While I won't say this film is as good as its predecessor, "March of the Penquins", it is still worth watching and adding to your dvd collection. Recommended for all ages!
Movie Review: Predator and prey
Summary: 4 Stars
One of the great trends in the entertainment industry of the past decade is the increase of high-quality, feature-length, family-friendly documentaries that are both entertaining and educational at the same time. Shows like "Winged Migration", "March of the Penguins" and "Blue Planet" are bringing the world to people's homes even as mankind intrudes more and more into the natural world. One of the latest productions is Arctic Tale, a Paramount Pictures production that examines the life of a female polar bear, Nanu, and a female walrus, Seela over the course of three years. The movie begins with Nanu's first appearance from her mother's ice den, and then switches to Seela's first swim in the arctic waters. As the movie progresses, the viewer sees each undergo trials and tribulations such as looking for food, watching out for predators, and learning how to survive from family. The lives of both cross at several points during the movie, but both make it to the end, as both become mothers in turn. The movie is narrated by Queen Latifah, who must be working hard to expand her resume. The photography in this movie is great, and the extra features show how some of the footage was obtained. All in all, an entertaining documentary.Movie Review: Enjoyable tale of arctic creatures!
Summary: 4 Stars
I got this DVD because we enjoyed "March of the Penguins" so much, and "Arctic Tale" is by the same producers. Nanu, the polar bear cub that we get to watch grow up, is adorable...playful from the very beginning. And Seela, the walrus pup, though not as cute (she is a walrus after all), is still a joy to watch.
The tale of their upbringing by their mothers (and aunts) is really heartwarming, and their struggle to survive due to the harsh artic conditions is amazing. I also really liked the music, especially the opening song.
There was a moral to this story, too. It became clear that part of the message of the movie was the impact of global warming on the arctic. In one year, it took the ice 3 extra months to harden enough to be safe for the polar bears to walk on, and they nearly starved during that time.
I have to admit, we preferred the "March of the Penguins" to this film (story held our attention more and the filming of the penguins was incredible), but this is still a really good film and is well worth watching!
Movie Review: A nature documentary with an unnecssary political bent
Summary: 3 Stars
It is impossible to shake the feeling that "Arctic Tale" was released not only because of the success of "March of the Penguins," but because of "An Inconvenient Truth." Instead of the Antarctic we are in Arctic, and instead of penguins we have a newborn polar bear cub, named Nanu (of the North I would imagine), and a newborn walrus, named Seela. This 2007 nature documentary, directed by Adam Ravetch and Sarah Robertson, follows the youngsters as they grow up in the hostile environment of the arctic. One of the production companies is National Geographic Films, but it would not be fair to say "Arctic Tale" is a National Geographic documentary of the type that we remember, especially with its theme music (but without the lyrics Albert Brooks supplied in the prologue of "Twilight Zone: The Movie"). In fact, given the ideological leanings of this movie, it is hard to say it is a "nature documentary."
"Arctic Tale" is cobbled together from 15 years of film shot in the frozen north. So this is most decidedly not a case of following around these two young cubs from birth to rebirth (to wit, the cycle of life). Nanu starts off accompanying her mother and her brother, while Seela has both a mother and an "auntie" (a designation that is social rather than biological). The lives of the polar bears and the walruses intersect at time in the story, although youngsters worried that Nanu is going to try and eat Seela--or adults wary that the two become unlikely friends in some arctic version of the lion and the lamb lying down together through the wonders of strategic film editing)--do not need to be afraid. However, parents should be forewarned that "Arctic Tale" is about trying to survive in a harsh environment. Neither polar bears nor walruses are vegetarians, and the grim fact is that these creatures have to eat to survive. That is made clear, although the filmmakers avoid being graphic in that regard. Consequently, in terms of what we see on screen this film is appropriate for children, and I think young viewers will understand the harshness of life up north and remember that more than the unnecessary scene supposedly showing us the joys of walrus flatulence.
The cinematography, as you would expect, is spectacular. However, the narration by Queen Latifa makes it clear that this is not just a nature documentary simply showing what happens and avoiding making editorial comments. Clearly these animals are threatened by global warming, and you know full well that that polar bears, walruses, and other arctic creatures are not responsible for that. Some of narration we hear is written by Kristin Gore, the daughter of the Oscar and Nobel Prize winning Al Gore, but she was also a writer for "Futurama," so she may well be responsible for the jokes we hear rather than the politics. As the reference to global warming start piling up I found myself being distracted by the rhetoric from watching what was happening to the animals, and that was enough to deduct one star.
Then we get to the end credits and young kids start spouting solutions to ecological problems, suggesting to young viewers that if your family does their laundry in warm water they are basically killing future Nanus and Seeles, then things are just going too far and I have to round down to three stars for my rating. There were critics who attacked "Happy Feet)" as being "an animated version of 'An Inconvenient Truth,'" which was pretty ludicrous to anybody who has seen the film that chastises humanity for throwing garbage in the ocean, over fishing, and zoos, but has nary a word about global warming. But "Arctic Tale" leaves itself open to such attacks, and if anybody is sitting on the fence regarding that score the end credits certainly force the issue. To be clear: I am not against the position being espoused here, but by how it is presented. The argument needs to be sustained by logic and not by emotions, even when it is being preached to the choir.
Movie Review: stunning visuals overcome schmaltzy treatment
Summary: 3 Stars
"Arctic Tale" is a National Geographic nature documentary blown up to widescreen proportions. Exquisitely photographed by Adam Ravetch (who, along with Sarah Roberston, also served as co-director of the film), the movie follows the exploits of an adorable polar bear cub named Nanu and an equally irresistible baby walrus named Celia as they learn to cope and survive (with more than a little help from their mommies) in the harsh conditions of the Great White North.
Weaknesses first. "Arctic Tale" suffers from a failing common to many nature documentaries aimed at a general audience - namely the tendency to sanitize and whitewash some of the harsher realities of life in the wild to avoid offending the sensibilities of an often squeamish audience. We don't mind oohing and ahhing over a cuddly little bear, all bleary-eyed and squinty, finally emerging from the dark den of her childhood to the bright light of day - but being compelled to watch her tear some other poor defenseless creature to pieces in order to perpetuate her own survival would be something else again. Similarly, it's one thing to anthropomorphize an animal; it's quite another to do so on the level of a Disney cartoon (the animals here do just about everything but talk). Thus, not only do we get cutesy, folksy narration (voiced by Queen Latifah) that sounds as if it were written for an audience of restless first-graders (which it may very well have been) but a sappy theme song that sets a schmaltzy tone from the outset. The movie also goes in for such corny effects as playing "We Are Family" on the soundtrack as we're introduced to a tight knit community of sunbathing walruses - or treating us to a full-out flatulence contest among the members of that same group. For some reason, the movie seems to feel that we just wouldn't be all that interested in the lives of these creatures if we weren't somehow convinced that, underneath it all, they're JUST LIKE US.
Not that we aren't treated to the darker, kill-or-be-killed, survival-of-the-fittest side of nature as well, though rest assured the "kills" are kept at a discreet enough distance to avoid traumatizing the little ones - or even the more weak-stomached and fainthearted members of the adult audience, for that matter.
On the positive side, the movie makes a poignant case for the tremendous threat global warming poses to these wonderful creatures and offers proof positive as to just how quickly the rapidly-changing climate is shattering the fragile ecosystem that serves as their home. Ravetch manages to get his camera into amazing places, so much so that we often wonder just how genuine some of the "story" we are witnessing actually is (the movie was culled from over 800 hours of footage gathered over a period of fifteen years, not the mere twelve-month-long period the plotline would suggest).
Yet, if you can get past the pedestrian commentary, you'll find in "Arctic Tale" a visually stunning, frequently thrilling and occasionally heartbreaking story of struggle and survival, one filled with enough urgency and passion to get us up and over most of the teeth-gritting stuff.