Königreich Arktis

I watched this film at the Seattle International Film Festival; it is a beautifully made documentary on life in the Arctic. The filmmakers followed the life of a Polar Bear cub and a Walrus as they learn about life from their mothers and have to deal with the catastrophic changes in the Arctic Weather caused by Global Warming. The film has a broad appeal, particularly amongst Children, who will find the movie funny, exciting, sad, and touching – quite a few people in the movie theater were sobbing by the end. This fits well with "March of the Penguins" in the way it "dramatizes" the footage and humanizes the wild animals, however it does this in a way that serves the story and helps people sympathize with the plight of the Arctic Wildlife.

In 2005, March of the Penguins brought us to the Antarctica, and introduced the life cycle of the emperor penguins to the mass audience. And Happy Feet was quick on its erm feet to seize the initiative and make an animated feature on our non-flying friends. Now, we journey to the opposite pole to visit Polar Bears and Walruses, but somehow, the former proved to be a logical choice for promotional posters. Having the worlds #1 brand use them in their advertisements, and as I recall one cheeky ad involving a bear shaving excess fur, you would have thought that this would make another documentary worth sitting through.

But Arctic Tale is not March of the Penguins. Narrated by Queen Latifah, it relied on similar themes and tactics in its narrative though, featuring the circle of life, and cute offsprings that you just want to cuddle (before they become big and aggressive enough to tear you apart), but apart from those, it's a totally different ball-game altogether. For starters, the focus on Walruses allowed some kind of parallels to be drawn with the Polar Bears, with the common starting point for both species, the threats that they both face in terms of survival, and how intertwined their lives are actually, because one is prey to the hunter.

It's amazing how the footage seen in the documentary were captured. As the end credits rolled, you do see stills on how up close and personal the filmmakers get to the action. But what amazed me more is how a story can be weaved from the footage shot, without being too contrived or artificial about it, despite relying on composite characters created. What I liked too is the observation on the animal species themselves. While the Polar Bears are more independent and don't hunt in packs, the actions of the Walruses, while they live as a community, do not demonstrate that they'll behave likewise when faced with a predator. Their all "man" for himself attitude do seem quite selfish, especially when a reliance on strength in numbers will probably help. But that's the way the circle of life rolls.

While it played out rather straightforwardly, what I thought was a missed opportunity was the very superficial glean on probably an important message these days - climate change, for the worse. With the rising temperatures, the polar caps are melting and shrinking, posing a direct challenge to the animals' habitat and a threat to their survival. The white, snow covered land mass they are living on, are slowly disappearing, and living off a grassland covered rock, doesn't seem to cut it, at least, not for the Polar Bears. Arctic Tale presents the effect of this change, but doesn't address the climate concerns.

Perhaps that's best left as a topic in itself. As far as Arctic Tale is concerned, it has presented and preserved, the way of life of the Polar Bears and Walruses. While not as compelling a story as March of the Penguins, it does serve its purpose, but nothing more. If compared, this one rates a notch lower.

On the land of the Arctic, animals have to fight the cold and lack of food. They hunt, nest and reproduce. We see the loving interaction and teaching skills between polar bear mothers and babies, and walrus mothers take good care of their babies. Global warming has caused baby polar bear Nanu to struggle to survive the lack of food, warning us to protect the environment and protect the homes of Arctic animals.

Global Warming is a real threat. The majority of scientists across the globe agree on this (there is a small dissenting group but nothing compared to those that believe in the theory). And wildlife filmmakers Adam Ravetch and Sarah Robertson believed there were ways to prove it. So they embarked on a fifteen year odyssey to film the lives of two creatures: Nanu the polar bear and Seela the Walrus.

The arctic is where these two live, and the arctic is the battleground most climatologists point to whenever they are asked for proof of global warming theory. It is important to let our children know that this area is in danger—as are its animals—thanks to the changes in global climate. And children are who this G-rated film is directed at.

There's the cuddly polar bear scene when Nanu is born with her "brother", and the protective nature of walruses as they fret over their young. And there's the bathroom humor of the walruses as they eat clams and then expel flatulence in roaring surround sound.

But there's also some things that might frighten the very young. Nanu and her ilk are meat eaters; in fact, they love walrus and seal meat. Some bloody carcasses are seen on several occasions, so parents who haven't discussed life-cycles with their young ones should beware. The fact that the movie-makers didn't give Nanu's "brother" and Seela's "auntie" a name should also give you pause (crewman 19!).

To help aid in the marketing of this film, you'll often hear "From the people that brought you MARCH OF THE PENGUINS..." but don't be fooled. Neither director nor the writers involved here were affiliated with March of the Penguins. Both films were aided with production dollars by National Geographic Films but that's about it.

Although March of the Penguins held more astonishing film footage, this film can boast some exquisite shots of its own. Following polar bears around as they swim in the open ocean and watching walruses suckle their newborns was something I found phenomenally well filmed. The vanishing ice flows are also pointedly shown as months into what should have been the arctic winter turns into open seas instead of frozen waters.

Queen Latifah (HAIRSPRAY) does a great job narrating. Never over-the-top, her tone was perfect for the settings. Always.

But I think Morgan Freeman did a bit better job during March of the Penguins. All-in-all, it's a superior documentary that stands head and shoulders above this one. But that shouldn't shame Arctic Tale at all. It's a decent documentary.

Just decent.

"Arctic Tale" is a National Geographic nature documentary blown up to widescreen proportions. Exquisitely photographed by Adam Ravetch (who, along with Sarah Roberston, also served as co-director of the film), the movie follows the exploits of an adorable polar bear cub named Nanu and an equally irresistible baby walrus named Celia as they learn to cope and survive (with more than a little help from their mommies) in the harsh conditions of the Great White North.

Weaknesses first. "Arctic Tale" suffers from a failing common to many nature documentaries aimed at a general audience - namely the tendency to sanitize and whitewash some of the harsher realities of life in the wild to avoid offending the sensibilities of an often squeamish audience. We don't mind oohing and ahhing over a cuddly little bear, all bleary-eyed and squinty, finally emerging from the dark den of her childhood to the bright light of day - but being compelled to watch her tear some other poor defenseless creature to pieces in order to perpetuate her own survival would be something else again. Similarly, it's one thing to anthropomorphize an animal; it's quite another to do so on the level of a Disney cartoon (the animals here do just about everything but talk). Thus, not only do we get cutesy, folksy narration (voiced by Queen Latifah) that sounds as if it were written for an audience of restless first-graders (which it may very well have been) but a sappy theme song that sets a schmaltzy tone from the outset. The movie also goes in for such corny effects as playing "We Are Family" on the soundtrack as we're introduced to a tight knit community of sunbathing walruses - or treating us to a full-out flatulence contest among the members of that same group. For some reason, the movie seems to feel that we just wouldn't be all that interested in the lives of these creatures if we weren't somehow convinced that, underneath it all, they're JUST LIKE US.

Not that we aren't treated to the darker, kill-or-be-killed, survival-of-the-fittest side of nature as well, though rest assured the "kills" are kept at a discreet enough distance to avoid traumatizing the little ones - or even the more weak-stomached and fainthearted members of the adult audience, for that matter.

On the positive side, the movie makes a poignant case for the tremendous threat global warming poses to these wonderful creatures and offers proof positive as to just how quickly the rapidly-changing climate is shattering the fragile ecosystem that serves as their home. Ravetch manages to get his camera into amazing places, so much so that we often wonder just how genuine some of the "story" we are witnessing actually is (the movie was culled from over 800 hours of footage gathered over a period of fifteen years, not the mere twelve-month-long period the plot line would suggest).

Yet, if you can get past the pedestrian commentary, you'll find in "Arctic Tale" a visually stunning, frequently thrilling and occasionally heartbreaking story of struggle and survival, one filled with enough urgency and passion to get us up and over most of the teeth-gritting stuff.