The arctic habitat is examined by following a polar bear and walrus cub. It takes you back to the days of Uncle Walt’s nature films. It hopes to highlight global warming for the tykes, but comes across as a bit ham-fisted when compared to March of the Penguins.
This documentary hopes to piggyback on the fame of March of the Penguins (as the box art reminds us that it’s from the same folks). However, this nature documentary is firmly aimed at the kiddies. March of the Penguins seemed to be aimed a bit higher and just became a phenomenon because of its family friendly rating and extremely interesting subject.
It’s not that Arctic Tale doesn’t have an equal amount of interesting subject matter and magnificent scenes, but I don’t remember March having a walrus fart joke tossed into the mix. The show is basically about two recent arctic births. Nanu is the cub of a mother polar bear and Seela is the cub (or is that pup) of a walrus.
The documentary wears its agenda on its sleeve and is basically designed to get kids to do something about global warming. They even include a bunch of little kiddoes to give us tips about how to save the planet (“If you wash your clothes in cold water, you use 80 percent less energy which keeps the water where the polar bears live from getting warmer.” That’s a pretty broad statement).
We tend to personify things (Mother Nature anyone?) and when we make statements like “This is not like any winter Mother Bear has seen before.” Can we be sure of that? I don’t recall Mother Bear being interviewed in the special features and telling us so.
I guess I’m going to start some controversy in that I don’t think that global warming is exactly an issue that has truly been decided beyond certain folks not even wanting to argue about it anymore.
You can find people arguing about it from both sides of the fence, though more than likely you’ll be hearing proponents telling you how to “save the planet.” Frankly, it sounds a bit conceited to me that we think that we can have an inkling of effect on this big blue ball we call Earth.
We may have to fear global warming, but I’m convinced that it’s in the form of the sun going supernova and reducing us to a cinder and there’s nothing we can do about that. The global cooling phase that was predicted in the ‘70s didn’t happen and if some of the scientist’s plans to counteract the “coming ice age” would’ve been put into effect (like melting the polar ice caps by covering them with soot!) the planet would’ve been devastated by their “cure.”
Climate is cyclical, so what goes around comes around. The sea has no master (these animals are called the rightful masters of the sea) and mankind has no control over the planet. I guess that story about a lady aborting her baby in the name of global warming has put me in a bad mood on the subject.
There’s a saying, “if you want to start an argument try and discuss politics or religion.” Sadly it appears that the global warming craze seems to have a bit of both in it and I’m a bit sorry for even bringing it up in this review. Mea culpa, but these where my thoughts when I was watching the film.
Back to the actual film, now that I’ve gotten off my soapbox, the documentary does have moments that remind you of those nature documentaries that Walt Disney used to make. The show does feature some gorgeous views (that we’re destroying by washing our clothes in hot water from the sound of things…..) and nature footage.
My daughter seemed to enjoy it. However, March of the Penguins is the better of the two. This one might be a bit too “kid friendly” for adults. Narrator Queen Latifah seems to be aiming directly at the tykes and seems to be “talking down.”
Arctic Tale is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include the 24 minute “Making of Arctic Tale,” the 7 minute “Are We There Yet? World Adventure: Polar Bear Spotting, the 2 minute theatrical trailer, and previews for other Paramount DVDs.
More aimed at the kids, this seems like March of the Penguins lite. I’m sure my grouchiness about the topic is causing the icecaps to melt even sooner than they usually do; however, the documentary is one that the kids can enjoy.
Arctic Tale is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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