Product Description

Set in the vast snow kingdom at the top of the world, Arctic Tale is a real life adventure from the people who brought you March Of The Penguins. Join narrator Queen Latifah as she follows two very different arctic creatures, Nanu, the polar bear cub and Seela, the walrus pup, through exciting and harrowing struggles for survival. Armed only with their natural instincts and mothers’ guidance, these inspiring animals face countless trials and challenges in a beautiful icebound world that is rapidly melting beneath them.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8762 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2007-12-04
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French, Spanish
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 96 minutes

Amazon.com
The frozen Arctic is home to polar bears and walruses, two very different types of animals whose struggle to survive against the elements is only being made more difficult by a changing climate. Directors Adam Ravetech and Sarah Robertson filmed walruses and polar bears in the Arctic for 15 years in order to create this amazing story about the lives of Nanu the baby polar bear and a newborn walrus dubbed Seelah. Striking footage from land and sea is combined with effective narration by Queen Latifa and pop music by Joby Talbot to chronicle these creatures' lives from the babies' first days of existence, through two years of training in hunting and fighting by their respective mothers and the changes in the icy world that are necessitating new adaptations by these animals, and a contemplation of the chances of both species' continued survival. Like March of the Penguins, the footage of the animals of the Arctic and the formation and breaking up of the ice is exquisite, but perhaps even more striking is the clear evidence of climate change in the delayed formation of the ice in the autumn and its progressively earlier thawing and breaking up each spring. The polar bears' and walruses' resilience and instinctual ability to adapt and change in the face of the negative effects of global warming in order to survive is stressed, and viewers are left pondering why man cannot similarly adapt and change his ways in order to positively affect the world. Bonus features include an interesting "making of" featurette with Adam Ravetech and Sarah Robertson that describes their travels, trials, and enormous gratitude for the assistance of the Intuit people and a fun Are We There Yet? World Adventure: Polar Bear Spotting mini-adventure for kids in which Molly and Sam go looking for polar bears in a tundra buggy. (Ages 5 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Ideal for children,but only mildly charming for adults:ARCTIC TALE
This is not a global warming film! It doesn't need to be. It is obvious what is happening. The Arctic is disappearing and a polar bear named Nanu and his childhood friend Seela the walrus are now coping with the fact that their world is disappearing. This National Geographic Film covers an eight year period in which Nanu and Seela grow up, play, love and struggle against the elements of changing nature. At times the film seems like a documentary, and at other times like a wild life adventure. The film is narrated by Queen Latifah (her rendering simply did not work for me at all...I wanted Morgan Freeman!). The story is very manipulative and definitely goes for the heartstrings of younger children. It is informative and sometimes enchanting, but as an adult I did feel a little bit used by this film. All in all, a one time view will suffice for adults. Children will like this one better.

Terrifically Tender, but Slightly Tainted 'Tale'
(3 1/2 *'s) `An Arctic Tale' is not exactly woven as neatly as `March of the Penguins'. Playful and at times cutesy-pie like the walrus pups and polar bear cubs presented, narrator Queen Latifah gives a comic edge to what might have been just another polar survivor adventure. Personification is a key component to the charm of her presentation, but this gets extended into the ending, which fails to stay with the story and becomes a springboard to a soapbox lecture at the end.

As with any National Geographic special, some of the cinematography ("principal" [their spelling] cinematographer, Adam Raveld) is awesome. Without a widescreen TV, I was thoroughly satisfied. The story is the tender and terrific rendition of one mother polar bear and her cub, Nanu, and one mother walrus and her pup, Selah. We see the lifecycle go from each of their births and follow their community adventures until each is old enough to become a mother herself.

As a G-rated venue, meant to enlighten and entertain, I think discerning information is needed for its potential audience. Just as the ice splits into two during an arctic summer solstice, the movie can have that kind of "polarizing" [sorry!] effect. Walking on thin ice, I'll try to be as fair as possible, nonetheless. Seeing the arctic creatures fend for themselves as their domain is melting more than previously, I knew one could discern an environmental message in layers just below the surface.

At the end we get children pleading for the audience to amend their lives to help save the characters in the movie. Now, I am split with a verdict of the ending. Part of me, having grown up in the seventies, likes the idea of conserving and sharing resources. Pollution and hording are not okay, and the specter of another energy crisis with garbage looming on the horizon is not part and parcel of my beliefs for a better future. On the other hand, I start to lose my sympathies when prodigy children lecture me that if I take two minutes less to shower, I will save the life of one of the polar bears. I think this is when everyone has a right to a claim of disservice. Conservatives get angry when they have been robbed of their "G" rated entertainment in favor of what they say is silly propaganda. Liberals also have a right to be equally offended for having their causes being brought to ineffective levels, bringing incredulity to the masses.

I think if you take the movie as it is, you will be well served by a beautiful and benign film. Just like people sometimes find it nauseating when you have a highlighter pen lecture like at the end of 'The Ultimate Gift,' people will find it more effective to let the story and stunning cinematography do all the work for them and let the adults do their own lecturing to their children. Maybe they could have taken their cues from 'Happy Feet' before them. Just as they seemed to emulate them with an environmental tale set to music, 'Arctic Tale' should have ended with its graphic "Green.nationalgeographic.org." In movies with the tug-of-war between show and tell, show should always win over tell.

Arctic Tale Review
Bought this to watch with my granddaughters and while it is a bit lengthy for the under 6 crowd, they stayed interested and enjoyed it. For adults, the photography is superb and it is also informative. Latifah does a grand job. I recommend it for everyone with grandchildren for fun and educational viewing together.