Arctic Tale is directed by Adam Ravetch and Sarah Robertson, and is narrated by Queen Latifah *** Arctic Tale is a story of various animals living in the Arctic and their journey through life, from being newborns to giving birth themselves. The film is accompanied by narration and set exclusively in the Arctic, as these numerous animals live their lives and grow older in some of the most exotic terrain of the planet. ***

Arctic Tale is a compelling documentary, and there are a lot of interesting ideas and such explored here. The issue of global warming and environmentalism is never strayed far from, and the footage that was shot is nothing short of beautiful. While March of the Penguins did this sort of documentary to perfection already (if it can be called such), Arctic Tale is still a worthy successor. Queen Latifah is miscast as the narrator here, but apart from that, I don’t have any major complaints with the film. It’s a nice family piece that was beautifully shot over the course of many years. ---

Image and Sound:

From what I can tell, this is the same transfer as the HD DVD version that was released a year or so back. The film was shot over long periods of time with many different cameras, so the image quality differs depending upon a number of factors. There is an inconsistent level of film grain as a result, though it is rarely distracting. Audio fare s similarly, and is rather front-heavy as it emphasizes the narration. I was hoping the movie would get a full-blown restoration for its Blu release rather than an HD-DVD port, but either way, Arctic Tale looks and sounds pretty good for what it is.

Again, a direct port from the HD DVD. All we get are two featurettes on the film, neither one of which is too long or compelling, they include, the Featurette's-"Making Of Arctic Tale"/"Are We There Yet? World Adventure: Polar Bear Spotting" Additionally, the theatrical trailer is included in high definition if you count that sort of thing as a bonus feature. ---

Final Words: