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Arctic Tale
Paramount Vantage


8.1

based on 26 reviews
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How did we calculate this?

based on 7 votes
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MPAA RATING: G

Starring Queen Latifah

From National Geographic Films, the people who brought you March of the Penguins and Paramount Classics, the studio that brought you An Inconvenient Truth, Arctic Tale is an epic adventure that explores the vast world of the Great North. The film follows the walrus, Seela and the polar bear, Nanu, on their journey from birth to adolescence to maturity and parenthood in the frozen Arctic wilderness. Once a perpetual winter wonderland of snow and ice, the walrus and the polar bear are losing their beautiful icebound world as it melts from underneath them. (Paramount Vantage)

GENRE(S):	Documentary
WRITTEN BY:	Kristin Gore Mose Richards Linda Woolverton
DIRECTED BY:	Sarah Robertson
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: December 4, 2007 Theatrical: July 25, 2007
RUNNING TIME:	96 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Positioned to be the environmental documentary of the year.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson

For all the inevitable comparisons to March Of The Penguins, Arctic Tale isn't quite a nature documentary.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

The best reason to see this documentary is for the stunning shots of polar bears and walruses in the Arctic Circle. If the filmmakers had just left it at that, they would have accomplished a lot.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Whatever problems some might have with its execution, it's hard to argue against a film whose intent is to kindle youthful compassion for living things and inspire action to protect Earth and its creatures.

TV Guide Ken Fox

For all the impending doom, the film remains suitable for kids of all ages (the filmmakers even end on a happily reassuring note that is at odds with the film's overall message).

Entertainment Weekly Gregory Kirschling

It's a respectable attempt to get kids who like cuddly animals thinking about death and destruction on a global scale.

Premiere Deborah Day

It’s a playful study of Arctic life, starring a polar bear cub, its prey, and a tagalong fox -- with the inevitable dramatic moments when bear meets walrus.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Arctic Tale has a very precise audience in mind: Young children who aren't yet ready for the graphs and sociopolitical alarm bells of "An Inconvenient Truth."

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

It plucks ceaselessly at our heartstrings to play a sad song indeed.

Miami Herald Peter Debruge

Make no mistake, Arctic Tale is a stunning film, full of all the astonishing, even breathtaking nature photography we've come to expect from the folks at National Geographic.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

As charming as it is instructive.

The Hollywood Reporter Stephen Farber

Spectacular photography of the frigid domain of polar bears, walruses and seals is the chief attraction of Arctic Tale.

Variety Ken Eisner

Queen Latifah proves an amiably authoritative narrator, and is allowed more personality than most script readers.

Village Voice Ella Taylor

A smarmy score, some orgiastic farting from a herd of walruses, and a modicum of cutesy anthropomorphism from narrator Queen Latifah prove a small price to pay for this stunningly photographed narrative documentary about a year in the endangered life of Arctic ice floe.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Sometimes a little too pat, a little too cute.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

Watching bear cubs and walrus pups struggling to survive against increasingly tough odds, and on ever-slushier ice shelves, has both its shamelessly manipulative side and its dramatically necessary side, as handled here. This proves one thing: Unlike global warming, some stories really do have two sides.

New York Post Kyle Smith

The script, narrated by Queen Latifah, is so embarrassingly dorky (it was co-written by Kristin Gore) that it's like Fred Rogers gone hip-hop.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

The flat narration by Queen Latifah doesn't help, but Adam Ravetch and his wife Sarah Robertson's nature film, Arctic Tale, fails to inspire the kind of rapturous response we felt for "March of the Penguins" for other reasons.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jennie Punter

Icy landscapes, the cozy tones of Queen Latifah and a walrus-farting scene that rivals the campfire bean-fuelled explosions of "Blazing Saddles" help make Arctic Tale, a new wildlife documentary, a fun family indoor excursion.

Wall Street Journal Joanne Kaufman

The impact of Arctic Tale is blunted by its length (it feels long at 85 minutes) and by its script.

The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis

The movie’s stunning underwater photography (fearlessly captured by Mr. Ravetch) effectively dilutes the saccharine tone.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust

Reinforcing the adage that looks aren't everything, the live-action animal drama Arctic Tale arrives in an impressive visual package and even boasts a timely message, but its undistinguished storytelling is a big letdown.

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

Watching these endangered species evolve new approaches to hunting and shelter is fascinating, but the movie is seriously marred by a cloying screenplay and such kid-pleasing touches as shots of walruses belching and farting.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

In the end, I'm conflicted about the film. As an accessible family film, it delivers the goods. But it lives in the shadow of "March of the Penguins." Despite its sad scenes, it sentimentalizes.

San Francisco Chronicle Justin Berton

Makes an unpersuasive case that humans are to blame for the shrinking ice caps.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

The movie is edited and, worse, narrated in ways that sabotage the magic and even undercut the movie's message.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 7 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

IR P gave it a10:
There's a miracle in this wildlife drama, and it is implied on the whole story of the bear and the seal's fight for survival. Amazing!

Joe B gave it a7:
A well done nature documentary; if one can stomach the incessant global warming ideology that the film repeatedly harps on. Cute and realistic animal scenes, and yet the viewer is constantly reminded that in many ways human beings are essentially responsible for the harshness of these creatures' lives, due to our participation in global warming and the "disappearance" of the arctic ice. Good movie, but it could have been so much more if it hadn't been so shamelessly politicized. Be sure to debrief your kids after watching, as the movie tugs on their emotions to brainwash them into its environmental philosophies.

tom J gave it a0:
Makes an unpersuasive case that humans are to blame for the shrinking ice caps.

A.J. J gave it a10:
Fantastic footage - of course I love Polar bears so I'm biased. But this is the best - wish there were more movies like this!

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Arctic Tale Paramount Vantage

Arctic Tale
Paramount Vantage