A well-intentioned film that isn’t a documentary and isn’t a very good adventure story.
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08/20/07
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Arctic Tale (2007)
52
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:25
Fresh:13
Rotten:12
Average Rating:5.5/10
Consensus: Arctic Tale features breathtaking nature cinematography, but is undone by its over-cutesy narration.
Theatrical Release:Jul 25, 2007 Limited
Box Office: $598,103
Synopsis: This heartbreaking documentary puts a face on the sad statistics of global warming--and though it's not a human face, it's the perhaps even more effective face of an adorable polar bear cub, Nanu,... [More]
Director: Adam Ravetch, Sarah Robertson
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Reviews for Arctic Tale
Top CriticIt's aimed at kids, and it hits them squarely: My 6-year-old and his friend sat stock still, hypnotized.
08/17/07
Top CriticArctic Tale does afford us some beautiful landscape cinematography and up-close looks at creatures in the wild...
08/17/07
Top CriticThere's no Jane Goodall required. And the absence of humans proves we needn't be onscreen to make our presence known.
08/17/07
Top CriticWhether you're more attuned to adorable animals or environmental issues, Arctic Tale is pretty cool.
08/16/07
Top CriticThe point is made: life, as the wondrous animals of our very far north know it, is severely endangered. And that can only spell disaster for the inhabitants of lands farther south.
08/03/07
Top CriticDespite the storytelling faults, Ravetch and Robertson offer remarkable footage from the evaporating Arctic.
08/03/07
Top CriticDespite its sad scenes, it sentimentalizes. It attributes human emotions and motivations to its central animals. Its music instructs us how to feel. And the narration and overall approach get in the way of the visual material.
08/03/07
Top CriticWatching 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.
08/03/07
Top CriticThe babies are adorable, the soundtrack choices ('We Are Family') obvious, the biological diversity awe-inspiring.
08/03/07
Top CriticNevertheless, Arctic Tale is a kid-friendly, non-preachy window on the north as a place of wonder and a harbinger of change -- and I'll take Queen Latifah's warm voice over Al Gore's drone any day.
08/03/07
Top CriticWatching 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.
08/02/07
Top CriticArctic is as charming as it is instructive.
08/02/07
Top CriticThe best thing about Arctic Tale is the vivid underwater cinematography, shot with such urgency and vibrancy that one might suspect a little CGI assistance has been employed.
08/02/07
Top CriticWhatever 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.
07/27/07
Top CriticI'm no holdout about the reality of global warming, but fictionalizing and anthropomorphizing animal adventures to make the point and then calling it a documentary puts these filmmakers in a league with pre-Sicko Michael Moore.
07/27/07
Top CriticMakes the mistake of anthropomorphizing its subjects and substitutes pallid whimsy for reportage.
07/26/07
Top CriticDespite the film's undeniable technical achievements, it's hard to walk out of the theater without sensing that you've witnessed a bit of a cheat.
07/26/07
Top CriticIt's a respectable attempt to get kids who like cuddly animals thinking about death and destruction on a global scale.
07/25/07
Top CriticThe 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.
07/25/07
Top CriticLatest News for Arctic Tale
April 29, 2008:
Disney, Warners Taking Filmgoers Back to Nature 
No longer the sole domain of Marlin Perkins and Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, nature documentaries have become big business at the box office -- a business that Warner Bros.... More...
July 26, 2007:
Critical Consensus: Woo-Hoo! Simpsons Is Certified Fresh; No Reservations Is Bland; Rescue Dawn Shines
This week at the moves, we've got America's favorite family in their long-awaited big-screen debut (The Simpsons Movie); a tale of two chefs (No Reservations, starring Catherine... More...
July 22, 2007:
The striking visuals that sweep across both the landscape and awesome natural world beneath, compete for center stage with the film's critical ecological cautionary warning pertaining to the careless harming of the planet.
More...
June 13, 2007:
Trailer & Poster review.
More...
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