In the middle of the vast arctic snow region at the top of the world, a polar bear cub and walrus pup bond with their respective parents and struggle in an unforgiving wilderness. There are ups and there are downs, there are comings and there are goings, but through it all these creatures' indomitable will to survive transcends their harsh environs creating a story of survival the entire family can enjoy and learn from.

Like the eerily similar March of the Penguins, the Natural Geographic film Arctic Tale is a visit to a strange world just about none of us will ever visit. It is also another example of the horrific effects of Global Warming, the shrinking world of both the polar bear and the sea lion a sickening factor in the drama highlighted here. Some of the picture's most striking imagery wouldn't occur without this continued ecological calamity, polar bears and sea lions alike braving the artic waters for five whole days of continued swimming in order to find both food and ice flows slowly vanishing from their territory.

The thing is, while I am the first to stand up and shout about the dangers of the climate crisis, I also don't need to be hit over the head with what is going on in the world with a didactic sledgehammer. The film's narration, read by a far-too bubbly Queen Latifah, is even more obnoxiously childish then the one found in that 2005 Oscar-winning penguin documentary. Giving the animals cutesy names like Nanu and Seela is bad enough, covering the entire end credits in sugary grade school lecturing (complete with a multi-ethnic cast of kids) and filling the whole thing with cliché pop music is almost inexcusable. I felt like I was being hit over the head with a giant finger-wagging licorice stick, the effect of which making me wonder if I shouldn't be calling my dentist in order to ward off movie-inspired tooth decay.

Still, the imagery in Arctic Tale is so stunning and the story it tells is so stirring I couldn't help but be moved by it, if only just a little bit. Watching these animals go through their evolutionary journey was at times breathtaking, a magnificent scene of matronly sacrifice so emotionally poignant my heart nearly ripped right in two. More, kids are going to eat this thing up, and considering what usually passes for pipsqueak entertainment something like this which both engages their attentions as well as educates their minds probably shouldn't be frowned too mightily upon.

Paramount's new DVD looks and sounds terrific even if the special features come up more than a bit lacking. There is a standard making of piece and a cute little featurette entitled "Are We There Yet? World Adventure: Polar Bear Spotting" and then nothing else. A director's commentary would have actually been nice here. Even better would have been a feature allowing a person to turn off Latifah's obnoxious narration, but something tells me wishing for something like that is probably pretty pointless because nothing like that was ever going to happen.

Be all that as it may, this nature in evolutionary distress documentary isn't anything to get all twisted into knots thinking about. There are a couple scenes of sublime power and mesmerizing grace, while the saga of these animals and their familial bonds is far more profoundly moving then any I could have imagined. Arctic Tale may not be perfect, but it does have its merits. More importantly, it's another reminder for all of us to recognize our world is changing in ways we can hardly comprehend which is something no one should scoff at.