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Review #509 of 365
Movie Review of Arctic Tale (2007) [G] 96 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $14.25
Where Viewed: AMC Westminster Promenade 24, Westminster, CO
When 1st Seen: 21 August 2007
Time: 4:55 pm
DVD Release Date: 4 December 2007 (click date to purchase or pre-order)
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer
Soundtrack: Download now from 
- or - order the CD below
Directed by: Adam Ravetch ("Nature") and Sarah Robertson ("Nature")
Written by: Linda Woolverton (Mulan) • Mose Richards (Natural Disasters: Forces of Nature ) • Kristin Gore ("Futurama")
Featured Narrator (Where You Might Remember Her From):
Queen Latifah (Hairspray)
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
First, a warning. If you do not want to believe that Global Warming is real, and you do not want to believe that human beings are having a negative impact on the world's climate not just gravely impacting our own existence on this earth but, also, the lives of every other species on our planet, don't see this film and don't continue reading this review.
From The National Geographic Society comes another wonderful film about the trials of life at the polar extremes. Their last film, March of the Penguins, narrated by Morgan Freeman, was met with such an overwhelmingly positive response from audiences of all ages, despite the occasionally grim events, they immediately funded a film to take a look at life at the other end of the globe. This time, the cameras and crews were sent to the arctic to follow the lives of two of the premier mammalian species the walrus and the polar bear. Like it's companion film, this story has some very grim parts. This is life in the natural world where animals do hunt and eat each other. Walruses are not the most common food for polar bears; however, when the bears get hungry and their favorite food, seals, are not available, they will try to catch and eat most anything including walruses. Where this film differs greatly, though, from March of the Penguins, is that it becomes obvious that the entire film serves not just to show the lives of these two species in the extreme cold, but what is happening to them as the earth is warming. And, if you don't believe the earth is warming, you should have followed the disclaimer advice above.
From The National Geographic Society comes another wonderful film about the trials of life at the polar extremes. Their last film, March of the Penguins, narrated by Morgan Freeman, was met with such an overwhelmingly positive response from audiences of all ages, despite the occasionally grim events, they immediately funded a film to take a look at life at the other end of the globe. This time, the cameras and crews were sent to the arctic to follow the lives of two of the premier mammalian species the walrus and the polar bear. Like it's companion film, this story has some very grim parts. This is life in the natural world where animals do hunt and eat each other. Walruses are not the most common food for polar bears; however, when the bears get hungry and their favorite food, seals, are not available, they will try to catch and eat most anything including walruses. Where this film differs greatly, though, from March of the Penguins, is that it becomes obvious that the entire film serves not just to show the lives of these two species in the extreme cold, but what is happening to them as the earth is warming. And, if you don't believe the earth is warming, you should have followed the disclaimer advice above.
"The film serves to inspire the greater good in all of us to work toward ending the climate crisis and creating a more hospitable world for all the earth's creatures."
In effect, the film serves an even greater purpose (as the children with suggestions during the closing credits as to how we can all reduce the impact of humans on the planet and turn around the climate crisis) to give a close up and personal accounting of the impact of a warmer planet on these animals that have evolved for hundreds of thousands of years in a colder one. What happens, for example, to polar bears that rely on being able to hunt seals that hide beneath the ice to avoid being eaten when there is no ice? What happens to walruses that can live only so long in the water before needing to refuge and rest on ice flows when there are no more ice flows for them to rest upon? It is really quite a frightening prospect for these animals, and the filmmakers did a marvelous job of catching looks of profound confusion and helplessness on the faces of these incredible animals. The film begins with the births of three babies, Nanu and her twin brother to their mother, a huge polar bear, and Sela to her mother, a gigantic, 2,000-lb. walrus. The story alternates between their lives as they grow up and face the challenges of everyday life in the artic. As their mothers, and in the case of Sela an appointed Auntie, strive to teach them everything they need to know, what they don't know is that much of what they know is about to change as the summer's length increases and the ice fails to form as it is supposed to rendering nearly all that they know moot when it comes to their survival. Without giving away too much of the plot, the first grim thing that happens is that Nanu's nameless brother perishes due to malnutrition. His mother simply cannot find enough food for herself and her two offspring. She has to go it alone, a single parent, raising these two bear cubs, and finding enough food for three has been a challenge in this new world. The walruses, meanwhile, seem to find no shortage of clams, their favorite food, rather they find it increasingly challenging to find ice upon which to rest after days in the water eating. There are some tragic and disheartening moments encountered by both families some of which are just part of nature's course and others which are directly or indirectly a result of global warming. This time around, Queen Latifah provides the soothing, gentle, humorous and somber voice of the narrator for the story. She does a beautiful job seemingly in tune with the needs of the audience as she reveals the triumphs as well as the downfalls our heroines face as they eventually reach adulthood and produce offspring of their own. The camera work here is breathtaking, and it's difficult to beat the natural world when it comes to scenery. Here we get to travel to a part of the world most humans never get an opportunity to see. Parents and guardians should use caution when bringing young children to see this film, however. They should be prepared for the harsh realities these animals face living in this frozen and now changing world. Some young children may not be able to handle the scenes of death, hunting, and danger faced by the protagonists. Overall, though, the message of hope and inspiration coupled with the will of all animals and plants to survive is a profoundly impacting one. The film serves to inspire the greater good in all of us to work toward ending the climate crisis and creating a more hospitable world for all the earth's creatures.
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Other Projects Featuring Arctic Tale (2007)
Cast Members
Queen Latifah
Director
Adam Ravetch
Writers
Linda Woolverton
• Mose Richards • Kristin Gore| CD Soundtrack | DVD | VHS |
| Poster | Video Games |
Queen Latifah expertly and warmly narrates this National Geographic follow-up to March of the Penguins, this time focusing on life in the Arctic to be know as Arctic Tale. The tale in question is about a baby walrus named Sela and a baby polar bear named Nanu who grow up in an uncertain world of gravely changing climates decreasing their habitats and making their lives far more of a struggle than living year-round in sub-zero temperatures is all on its own. Facing both the grim reality of such lives, the filmmakers took time to add narration that adds both humor and humility to the powerful story. Parents and guardians with young children should be prepared for some grim elements.
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