The Movie
From the same people who brought the world March of the Penguins comes a new adventure on the opposite side of the world, Arctic Tale. Following the lives of a family of polar bears and a family of walruses, Arctic Tale is a look into the rarely seen lives of these species.
Arctic Tale is narrated by Queen Latifah, which is its first mistake. She just doesn’t command the same awe as Morgan Freeman did in March of the Penguins, and she has some pretty bad jokes to boot. Instead of focusing on the true majesty of the lives of these rare animals, Arctic Tale instead tries to bring it down to a level for children, including a scene showing a pack of walruses farting. The material written for Latifah isn’t much better. Many times during the film the humor turns fairly low-brow, sophomoric even, which takes away from the beauty of nature unfolding before you.
Arctic Tale was shot over many years. Each year the filmmakers would return and pick up where they left off. From the footage you can really tell that this was a labor of love that must have required untold amounts of dedication. It’s sad that the hammed-up script ruins it the way it does.
But even with Queen Latifah’s gimmicky dialogue, Arctic Tale still contains a wide assortment of beautiful images and a story about these majestic arctic animals which doesn’t even need a narrator for us to understand what is going on.
There is a not so subtle underlying theme about global warming. While the issue is a very real and important one, Arctic Tale almost tries to drill it into your head. The extreme heavy-handiness comes during the credits when various children appear telling people how to save energy and the earth. I have no problem with these messages, but when they are so blatantly presented they do detract from the overall beauty of the animals that are on display.
The Quality
Arctic Tale is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio.
Article comments
1 - April Lorier
Wow, Aaron! You really covered all the bases in this review. Yes, this film is geared toward a younger audience, with Queen Latifah in the mix for a 'hipper' flavor. Don't get me wrong, I love her as an actress and singer, but I enjoy Morgan Freeman tremendously. Still, both films are great experiences in Nature, which is what I blog about every day. A well-done review, Aaron!