While structured as following the walrus, Seela, and the polar bear, Nanu, across the first several years of their lives (up until they both become mothers themselves), Arctic Tale was actually shot over a longer period and so covers a number of different animals. But, the structure works well to make this a story of survival by animals we come to know and care about. Directors Adam Ravetch and Sarah Robertson spent a great deal of time in Arctic, working with the natives and devising lots of ways to great stunning photography of not only walruses and polar bears, but also narwhales, beluga whales, arctic foxes and a variety of other creatures.
There’s lots of heartwarming photography of young animals playing and having fun, but there’s realistic sadness, too. Nanu’s twin brother dies relatively young and her mother leaves her earlier than would usually be the case because the changing climate makes it too hard to find food for them both. And Seela loses her aunt to another polar bear; the aunt dies fighting the bear away from Seela. But it’s the aunt’s death that allows Nanu to survive once the male bear allows her to eat some of the carcass. (It’s that circle of life thing.)
Arctic Tale shows what happens when the ice melts earlier and reforms later year by year; the walruses and the bears have to venture further and further away to find food to survive, including swimming through long stretches of open ocean. The story comes back again and again to the effects of climate change, but it’s not done in a heavy-handed way. Be warned though, if you watch this with your kids, that there are a number of children shown over the end credits, giving advice about ways to save energy and help the walruses and bears. If you don’t want to be pestered to reset your thermostat, drive less, and change your light bulbs, don’t watch the credits. (But really, you should.)
There are two special features in addition to the theatrical trailer. One is a making of that looks at how some of the shots were obtained and how long it took to get the footage to make the film. Most of that is told from the perspective of Adam Ravetch. It’s very interesting, but if you have smart kids and want to preserve the idea that it’s the same bear and walrus throughout, don’t watch this one with them or they’ll figure things out pretty quickly..
The other special feature is an episode from the National Geographic Kids’ series “Are We there Yet? World Adventure”; Molly and Sam go to Canada to get up close and personal with polar bears. They do spot a bear and have a great time watching it; could be your next family vacation.
The music in Arctic Tale is almost as good as the scenery; it’s quite a mix, but really fits the visuals. The sound is Dolby Digital 5.1 True HD, great for both the soundtrack and the narration by Queen Latifah. Subtitle options are English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. The aspect ratio is 2.35:1. Arctic Tale is worthy of Blu-ray for the high def pictures alone; you can feel the cold as you watch.