Narred by Queen Latifah

If you loved ''March of the Penguins'' you may like ''Arctic Tale.'' Your kids may like it a lot. However, this chilling story (in temperature only) differs not only by being polar opposite in location, but the narration by Queen Latifa lacks the gravity and majesty of Morgan Freeman. To be fair, this docu-drama seems to skew to a younger audience with its manufactured animal names and relationships which play somewhat manipulative. Kudos to husband/wife directors Adam Ravetch and Sarah Robertson for dramatizing the repercussions of global warming in a way that would inspire a young audience to take action.

''Arctic Tale'' is the story of the birth and adventures of Nanu, a female polar bear, who matures over the period of several years. Along with her nameless brother, Nanu learns the ways of hunting and surviving during the first three years of her life from her mother. As the polar cap melts away and food becomes scarce, she must go on an epic swim to a nearby island following a colony of walruses, most notably a young walrus named Seela who is having a parallel life experience.

Some of the most riveting material on the DVD is the Making of ''Arctic Tale''. There, the husband wife team that made the documentary tell of the fifteen year odyssey they endured to gather enough footage for a feature length movie. Using the grueling techniques of animal documentary film making in one of the most unforgiving climates on the planet, they worked tirelessly with the Inuit natives to find Walruses and Polar bears in their natural habitat. The made-for-kids short “Are We There Yet? World Adventure: Polar Bear Spotting” starred their two children, Sam and Molly.

The cinematography in ''Arctic Tale'' is a breathtaking achievement that almost makes one want to vacation in the arctic. Almost… But before you do, maybe you ought to gather the kids round the twenty first century campfire with a hot cup of coco and pop in ''Arctic Tale'' instead. It’s a fun family diversion with a valid moral that doesn’t require a sled dog team to get there.

Rating :
Reviewer : J. Anthony Lucas