In recent years, wild animals have been popular subjects in films. Lots of people know about the numerous wild animal starring animated films like
Madagascar, The Wild, Happy Feet, and Surf’s Up. But wildlife documentaries on the big screen have also become increasingly popular. To surprise of many, both 2001’s Winged Migration and 2005’s March of the Penguins were box-office successes and Oscar- winning films. So you knew it would be a matter of time before more of these types of films would get made. Back in 2007, the people behind March of the Penguins followed up with another wildlife documentary called Arctic Tale. Previously released on DVD and HD-DVD, this film is finally getting its Blu-ray DVD release.
Arctic Tale tells two stories simultaneously, alternating between the two. The first story involves a newly born polar bear cub named Nanu, her twin brother, and her mother. The second story involves a newly born walrus pup named Seela and her aunt. We follow both of these young animals through the first couple of years of their lives as hunger, predators, and global warming threaten their existence. Directors, Adam Ravetech and Sarah Robertson, filmed these walruses and polar bears in the Arctic for 15 years in order to create these two stories. They combine their footage from land and sea with a narration by Queen Latifah and pop music by Joby Talbot to chronicle these creatures’ lives.
On paper, Arctic Tale looks similar to March of the Penguins in that the people who made this film want to show viewers the struggles and hardships of wildlife in opposite frozen poles. But the subjects of this wildlife film are polar bears and walruses and not penguins. That is where the similarities really end, though, as far as the stories of the two films go. In this film, they are really trying to tell three different stories. Instead of focusing on one species, they split Arctic Tale into two different species who really have nothing in common, except the “cuteness” factor and the environments they live in. To make matters worse, there is also this forced global warming message. Time after time, we are reminded that we are destroying the homes of these animals and we must change the way we live. Global warming is a serious topic, but this could have been presented in a more subtle manner.
The stars of this film are definitely the polar bears and walruses. Queen Latifah is the only human voice we hear as the narrator, but the “script” she is reading is definitely sub-par when compared to March of the Penguins. There is too much focus on “toilet humor” in Arctic Tale. There are even montages of bodily functions in attempts to get the cheap laughs from children. That is really not needed, because you hardly saw anything of that in Penguins. But despite all of those negatives, you really can’t go wrong with the gorgeous footage of these animals and their environment.
Everything looks good; the majority of this film is educational. The story of the lives of polar bears and walruses is just as good of a story to tell as the story of the penguins. However, it’s a shame that there is this not-needed emphasis on global warming and what we need to do stop it. If March of the Penguins didn’t come out before this film, you might consider Arctic Tale a great documentary film for families. But since March of the Penguins came out first, and Arctic Tale was made by the same people, you can’t help but compare the two. That is where Arctic Tale fails in comparison. Kids will certainly be entertained and enlightened by this film, especially all the “toilet humor” scenes that targets them, but their parents will probably want to hit the eject button 20 minutes into the film.
The video is presented in 1080p/AVC at the 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen color ratio, which is enhanced for 16:9 TVs of course. This transfer is great. The colors are mostly vibrant and rich, but there is too much noticible grain in certain scenes for a Blu-ray DVD release. Not the best looking Blu-ray DVD release, but still above average. No major problems to speak of, just a few inconsistent minor ones.
The audio included is available in either English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround sound, French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound, or Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound. There are subtitles available in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese as well. The dialogue and music come out loud and clear. There are no major or minor problems here, so it’s definitely about as perfect as you can get and a little better than the video quality.
Blu-Ray Exclusives
There are no Blu-ray exclusives for this film.
Found on the Single Disc, Standard Edition As Well…
“The Making of Arctic Tale” Featurette –
This runs 25 minutes and it’s a detailed look at how fifteen years of Arctic research created this film. This also gives viewers a look at how the filmmakers endured the Arctic cold and pieced together a good story about the life of animals in the Arctic. This is definitely “must-watch” intrguing material, and some might even like this better than the film.
“Are We There Yet? World Adventure: Polar Bear Spotting” Episode –
This is basically a 7 minute video diary of two young children who go looking for polar bears in Canada via a tour bus. Kids will probably enjoy this.
Arctic Tale will keep kids entertained, but adults probably won’t like it as much, unless they are hardcore nature documentary or polar bear fans. They just might want to buy this. But this film is definitely sub-par when compared to March of the Penguins. So it’s really not must-watch material, especially since you can hear the same global warming message elsewhere.
Paramount Home Entertainment presents Arctic Tale. Directed by Adam Ravetch and Sarah Robertson. Written by Linda Woolverton, Mose Richards, and Kristin Gore (narration). Narrated by Queen Latifah. Running time: 96 minutes. Rated G. Released on DVD: April 21, 2009.
Available at Amazon.com
