Genre: Family/Educational/Adventure
Age range: 6+
Runtime: Approx. 60 minutes
studio: Genius Products
The Great Polar Bear Adventure - Summary
The Great Polar Bear Adventure is a story about polar bears, told by polar bears. Real footage of the bears is enhanced with computer animation to give voices to the animals of the Arctic in this intense tale about a mother polar bear and her cubs.
The story centers around a brave bear named Ikuk who, like any good mother, is doing her best to raise her cubs Cassie and Asak to be strong, wise, and self sufficient. When the time comes for Ikuk and her cubs to leave their den and travel to the seal hunting grounds, Ikuk prepares her cubs for the journey; but even she is not prepared for what they find when they arrive.
The effects of global warming have made hunting nearly impossible, and in order to get enough food, Ikuk is forced find new ways to survive. The family must contend with many dangers as they struggle to sustain themselves in the frozen Arctic, but Ikuk and her cubs are committed to staying together and staying strong.
The Great Polar Adventure - Guide Review
The Great Polar Bear Adventure is a documentary of sorts, as it is made up of footage of real polar bears; however, some of the shots were taken at a zoo, and computer animation is added to allow the bears to "talk." This mixture of real life and special effects is neat on one hand, because the filmmakers were able to use real life polar bears and their actual activities to create a cohesive and character driven story for kids; on the other hand, the mix is a bit troublesome. The cute polar bear story that puts names, personalities and voices to the animals becomes shocking when the polar bear mother eats the sassy seal (blood is shown).
Several scenes in the movie could be traumatic for young children. Polar bears are shown eating other animals. Polar bears are also shown fighting, and during one such battle, the two polar bear cubs look on in horror and fear as their mother fights with a large male bear.
Humans present another threat to the bears. Children may be afraid when the main character mother bear and her cubs are drugged, caught up in a net, and taken away by helicopter. Also, kids will certainly be disturbed by scenes which depict humans mistreating the polar bears in the past.
The Great Polar Bear Adventure is very educational in that it portrays the bears and many aspects of their survival. I like the idea of melding the documentary-style footage with some computer animation to create a story for kids, but it came off a little weird and unsettling in this movie. At least with a documentary, you kind of expect a little bit of the real and raw footage of the wild. The harsh reality mixed with cuteness in this movie may upset young kids who will grow attached to the anthropomorphic characters and may not be prepared to see things such as a dead bear in the snow or a bear eating a seal.
The Great Polar Adventure - Expand Upon the Curriculum
- Learn more about Polar Bears on the National Geographic Kids website.
- The Three Snow Bears is a beautifully illustrated retelling of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," but this story is set in the Arctic!
- Kids who love polar bears may enjoy making the Miniature Stuffed Polar Bear Craft from our guide to miniatures.
