"To the Arctic 3D" is an IMAX 40-minute nature documentary from 3 years ago. 2-time Oscar nominee MacGillivray and Stephen Judson worked on many of these, so lack of experience certainly is not an issue here. same goes for narrator Meryl Streep. I think she mostly does a fine job. It's not great, but I liked how clear she spoke that even non-native English speakers like myself have no problem understanding the contents. I did not like the male narrator though. No idea why they had to include a second voice. In terms of the contents, it's not bad, but could have been better. Sometimes it felt artificially dramatic and there is one part with really bad music in the last third of the film that would have fit an animated movie for little children. No idea what they were thinking there. However, what we see is nice. The arctic is as beautiful to look at like the polar bears and the other animals in here. Some of the information are fine and new, but in terms of telling us something new this film also comes short. It partly makes up for that in terms of the emotion and display of maternal love we have here. All in all, a decent watch that still misses out on greatness though.
14 Reviews
Not bad, but not fulfilled its potential either
Horst_In_Translation1 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
An artic tale
TheLittleSongbird23 April 2022
Seeing 'To the Arctic 3D' was never going to be in any doubt. Have loved nature documentaries for a long time, have always loved learning about polar bears and they are always interesting in every documentary they feature in and although the Arctic is a familiar documentary location there is always something new to learn about it. Do appreciate anything with some kind of message, regardless of how they are eventually executed. Meryl Streep has proven many times that she can narrate beautifully.
'To the Arctic 3D' has a lot to like about it. It is never going to be one of my favourite nature documentaries and to me there are better polar bear documentaries around and better IMAX documentaries around. It is still worth watching if one wants to see as many polar bear documentaries and IMAX ones as well (the latter ones have been interesting watches but variable ones too, this is neither among the best or worst). Nothing really is done terribly, though one aspect does bring things down by quite a lot, but the flaws are again uneven. It is not one of the best nature documentaries out there or a milestone, but it is not one of the worst either.
Am going to start with the good things. The production values are absolutely impeccable all round. This is another fine example of an environment that is exquisite to look at but very harsh with its challenges, photographed vividly and beautifully. The polar bears look absoluely ravishing up close and a lot is learnt about them and it is stuff that is illuminating rather than repeating already known facts.
Furthermore, the way it is told is touching and doesn't hold back. The narration is delivered beautifully. The polar bears are truly fascinating and very easy to relate to in all kinds of situations. The music on its own is nice. Did think that the message was admirable and it is a relevant and important issue and still needs to be addressed.
On the other hand, there are things that could have been done better in 'To the Arctic 3D'. Did feel that it could have made its points with a lot more subtlety, as it is rather heavy-handed and also on the one-sided side. All doom and gloom and not much hope, and it does unbalance the film in my view. As said the music is nice on its own but is used too much and doesn't gel stylistically, a gentler tone was needed.
While Streep narrates beautifully, the narration is on the underused side. The IMAX doesn't look cheap but in my mind it wasn't needed and the film feels too short.
Concluding, not great and inconsistent but a lot impresses and the intentions are noble. 6/10.
'To the Arctic 3D' has a lot to like about it. It is never going to be one of my favourite nature documentaries and to me there are better polar bear documentaries around and better IMAX documentaries around. It is still worth watching if one wants to see as many polar bear documentaries and IMAX ones as well (the latter ones have been interesting watches but variable ones too, this is neither among the best or worst). Nothing really is done terribly, though one aspect does bring things down by quite a lot, but the flaws are again uneven. It is not one of the best nature documentaries out there or a milestone, but it is not one of the worst either.
Am going to start with the good things. The production values are absolutely impeccable all round. This is another fine example of an environment that is exquisite to look at but very harsh with its challenges, photographed vividly and beautifully. The polar bears look absoluely ravishing up close and a lot is learnt about them and it is stuff that is illuminating rather than repeating already known facts.
Furthermore, the way it is told is touching and doesn't hold back. The narration is delivered beautifully. The polar bears are truly fascinating and very easy to relate to in all kinds of situations. The music on its own is nice. Did think that the message was admirable and it is a relevant and important issue and still needs to be addressed.
On the other hand, there are things that could have been done better in 'To the Arctic 3D'. Did feel that it could have made its points with a lot more subtlety, as it is rather heavy-handed and also on the one-sided side. All doom and gloom and not much hope, and it does unbalance the film in my view. As said the music is nice on its own but is used too much and doesn't gel stylistically, a gentler tone was needed.
While Streep narrates beautifully, the narration is on the underused side. The IMAX doesn't look cheap but in my mind it wasn't needed and the film feels too short.
Concluding, not great and inconsistent but a lot impresses and the intentions are noble. 6/10.
sometime beautiful
SnoopyStyle24 January 2017
Meryl Streep narrates this environmental IMAX nature film. Paul McCartney provides the songs. There is a warning about global warming projecting declining ice-coverage to the year 2050. This follows a mother polar bear and her two cubs. There are also other life such as the herd of caribou, underwater life, and the people of the north. There is one particularly intense scene as the polar bear family is chased by a large male. Otherwise, the animal photography is functional without being exceptional. There are some beautiful grand sweeping vistas. I would have liked more underwater filming of the tiny creatures. As a nature film, this is good enough. The environmentalism can be grating. Sometimes, it's not necessary to preach so much.
Save the Polar Bears!
TxMike6 June 2013
Warning: Spoilers
This IMAX film doesn't conceal the fact that it is a plea for reducing greenhouse gases to slow down the melt of the polar ice caps. Because, if the rate of warming keeps accelerating the polar ice will disappear completely every summer, and according to the writer of the script, Polar Bears will die out. Because they cannot live anywhere else.
In keeping with this theme a good portion of the 40-minute running time focuses on a mother bear and her two 7-mo-old cubs. As the filmmakers make clear in the DVD extra, it was mostly good fortune, they happened upon this family of three that were not at all spooked by their boat. In fact at times they would come up to the boat and inquire. So they were able to study and film them for quite some time. Including an episode where, after mother bear killed a seal and the three of them feasted a big hungry male, twice the size of mother bear, set his sights on her cubs. But she was able to scare him off.
The film also spent some time on the migrating Caribou and a newlywed couple who were tracking them. Also a brief comment about the underwater sea life being affected by the increasing acidity of the ocean.
The film was narrated by Meryl Streep. I saw it on DVD and while not as spectacular as 3D in an IMAX theater, it indeed is a very good-looking film. But rather limited in its scope.
In keeping with this theme a good portion of the 40-minute running time focuses on a mother bear and her two 7-mo-old cubs. As the filmmakers make clear in the DVD extra, it was mostly good fortune, they happened upon this family of three that were not at all spooked by their boat. In fact at times they would come up to the boat and inquire. So they were able to study and film them for quite some time. Including an episode where, after mother bear killed a seal and the three of them feasted a big hungry male, twice the size of mother bear, set his sights on her cubs. But she was able to scare him off.
The film also spent some time on the migrating Caribou and a newlywed couple who were tracking them. Also a brief comment about the underwater sea life being affected by the increasing acidity of the ocean.
The film was narrated by Meryl Streep. I saw it on DVD and while not as spectacular as 3D in an IMAX theater, it indeed is a very good-looking film. But rather limited in its scope.
a little too much
mhoyle10 January 2015
I checked this DVD out from my local public library thinking it would be a great documentary on the Arctic. Well, there are some great images, but the overall production/direction is almost too distracting. Paul McCartney added some music for the score, and much of the time, it distracts the viewer rather than adds to the experience.
And instead of presenting the content and allowing the viewer to draw their own conclusions, in my opinion the film goes too far in trying to emotionally manipulate regarding climate change and its effect on the animals of the Arctic.
Argh...
And instead of presenting the content and allowing the viewer to draw their own conclusions, in my opinion the film goes too far in trying to emotionally manipulate regarding climate change and its effect on the animals of the Arctic.
Argh...
One of the better IMAX films.
illusionsector19 January 2014
Through masterful and patient cinematography and editing, the movie documents a compelling story of survival. I was very much invested and fearful for the mother and her cubs, who were under the constant threat of attack by desperately hungry adult male bears, who were unable to otherwise feed themselves due to the effects of man's environmental recklessness on their habitat. Being a native IMAX movie, the picture quality is superb - way better than, say, Planet Earth or Arctic Tale. The presentation, the aerial shots, and the way the cameras take the viewer on the bears' journey is amazing. As for music, in addition to the Paul McCartney songs, there's also some beautiful original score by Steve Wood. Particularly the delicate celestial track that was also used on the Bluray's home menu screen gave me goosebumps. It's worth noting that a very tiny segment features footage shot using a remote controlled robotic digital camcorder, which (at the obvious expense of image quality) was able to capture the kind of up-close action that would've been impossible to get using the bulky and precious IMAX camera. However, rather than blow those scenes up to fill the entire screen, the movie has the honesty to put them in a sort of small ice-themed frame in the center, as if to say: "Look folks, these are some cool bits that we had to include but we're not by any means trying to pass them as 65mm film". This is something I came to appreciate having watched Hubble 3D, a movie where the vast majority of the non-CGI parts are cheap consumer camcorder footage (Am I watching an IMAX 3D movie or a reality TV show?). Anyway, if you love having your HD screen filled edge-to-edge with gorgeous full 16:9 65/70mm IMAX shots, you absolutely need to own To the Arctic 3D on Bluray.
disappointing
mgroat6930 July 2020
Brrrrr! Chilled To The Bone By Global Warming
strong-122-47888517 July 2015
Here are 3 things that lost this exceptionally well-photographed, IMAX presentation some very serious points.
(1) It contained some really pathetic, "grate-on-your-nerves" songs from 71-year-old, pop icon (and former-Beatle), Paul McCartney.
(2) Its phone-in narration (which was absolutely "dry-as-a-bone") was lifelessly delivered by veteran actress, Meryl Streep.
(3) This "message" documentary also got a bit out of hand when it came to driving home the point that it was, indeed, all man's fault for being the one who was creating all of the greenhouse gases that were causing global warming to accelerate (which, in turn, was destroying the arctic environment for polar bears and other such cold-climate wildlife).
But, on the other hand - There certainly was some very outstanding camera-work done in this documentary whose story traced the journey of a mother polar bear and her two, 7-month-old cubs as they bravely navigated their way across the ever-changing arctic wilderness.
(1) It contained some really pathetic, "grate-on-your-nerves" songs from 71-year-old, pop icon (and former-Beatle), Paul McCartney.
(2) Its phone-in narration (which was absolutely "dry-as-a-bone") was lifelessly delivered by veteran actress, Meryl Streep.
(3) This "message" documentary also got a bit out of hand when it came to driving home the point that it was, indeed, all man's fault for being the one who was creating all of the greenhouse gases that were causing global warming to accelerate (which, in turn, was destroying the arctic environment for polar bears and other such cold-climate wildlife).
But, on the other hand - There certainly was some very outstanding camera-work done in this documentary whose story traced the journey of a mother polar bear and her two, 7-month-old cubs as they bravely navigated their way across the ever-changing arctic wilderness.
Could have been more educational
Gordon-113 March 2014
This documentary film is about the life of wild polar bears residing in the Arctic.
Though it is just under 40 minutes long, "To The Arctic" transports us to an unfamiliar world where the landscape is just barren ice and snow. The landscape is beautiful, and the only life forms we see are polar bears. Filming the polar bears curiously exploring the camouflaged camera was a nice touch, as it was funny and provided a light touch to the documentary. The scene where mama polar bear protects her cubs from the other polar bear is tense and thrilling as well. However, it would have been good to have more educational elements as well. As it stands currently, it is more like a collection of footage of polar bears rather than a complete educational documentary.
Though it is just under 40 minutes long, "To The Arctic" transports us to an unfamiliar world where the landscape is just barren ice and snow. The landscape is beautiful, and the only life forms we see are polar bears. Filming the polar bears curiously exploring the camouflaged camera was a nice touch, as it was funny and provided a light touch to the documentary. The scene where mama polar bear protects her cubs from the other polar bear is tense and thrilling as well. However, it would have been good to have more educational elements as well. As it stands currently, it is more like a collection of footage of polar bears rather than a complete educational documentary.
Decent though Underwhelming
pulu554 May 2012
I'll be straight up honest I only went to watch this movie for the IMAX experience while I was visiting a museum. The images were definitely huge, though I was expecting better image quality. As far as image quality goes, I actually later enjoyed image quality of the trailer on youtube in 1080p HD more than that of the actual movie. Admittedly the giant screen does have it's impressive charm though and you can blame my disappointment on my ignorance of IMAX movies.
As far as the movie goes it was pretty average though that doesn't exactly mean it was that bad. You got to see cool landscapes, and learn about the wildlife. I'm pretty sure the impression I have right now is exactly as the filmmakers intended; fascinated by the Arctic and sympathetic to the polar bears. I was disappointed at first, but in retrospect it was a decent made film, I was just expecting more than you can typically see on Animal Planet. It was also rather short. I also wish the environmental message was more subtle than it actually was.
One thing I have to complement about the movie is the soundtrack. It was pretty good, in my initial disappointment I don't think I expected to be later searching for the songs online.
In the end I give it a 5/10
As far as the movie goes it was pretty average though that doesn't exactly mean it was that bad. You got to see cool landscapes, and learn about the wildlife. I'm pretty sure the impression I have right now is exactly as the filmmakers intended; fascinated by the Arctic and sympathetic to the polar bears. I was disappointed at first, but in retrospect it was a decent made film, I was just expecting more than you can typically see on Animal Planet. It was also rather short. I also wish the environmental message was more subtle than it actually was.
One thing I have to complement about the movie is the soundtrack. It was pretty good, in my initial disappointment I don't think I expected to be later searching for the songs online.
In the end I give it a 5/10
It may look family-friendly but be aware of its more than biased agenda
jdkraus8 July 2012
Warning: Spoilers
The last time I went to an OMNI-MAX was back in 2006 with the release of "Beavers." It has always been a treat to see a movie on such a large screen. "To The Arctic" does not let down on its sweeping shots of landscapes and emphasis of SFX and sound. Meryl Streep as the narrator is a nice break from the typical voice-overs, such as Morgan Freeman and Peter Coyote.
Unfortunately, this documentary is a disappointment on two crucial parts. First is the material that is covered. The movie presents itself as exploring the Arctic Circle. It covers seals, walruses, the land, brief blips of filmmakers, and polar bears. This is all fine, but the problem is that the narrative wonders. It starts with one subject, then changes to another without giving the viewer enough information, much less time to digest it. I did not learn anything nature-wise due to this.
The bigger issue is the underlying message. In documentaries like these, it is common to add personification to the animals as a means to gain some emotional attachments. What I did not anticipate was that this G-rated, family-oriented documentary has an agenda. It is not to give us a nature lesson, rather, it states that we are responsible for the destruction of the arctic and the wildlife within it. The movie goes on, claiming that the greenhouse effect is a cause for this. I half expected Al Gore to make a cameo.
I don't necessarily oppose this message, but I do find it wrong to disguise it in a film that is supposed to be about nature. The fact that the filmmakers use cute polar bears that are struggling to survive as an excuse for this message is borderline appalling. "To The Arctic" has good visuals that are suitable for the OMNI-MAX, but watch out for its more than biased message.
Unfortunately, this documentary is a disappointment on two crucial parts. First is the material that is covered. The movie presents itself as exploring the Arctic Circle. It covers seals, walruses, the land, brief blips of filmmakers, and polar bears. This is all fine, but the problem is that the narrative wonders. It starts with one subject, then changes to another without giving the viewer enough information, much less time to digest it. I did not learn anything nature-wise due to this.
The bigger issue is the underlying message. In documentaries like these, it is common to add personification to the animals as a means to gain some emotional attachments. What I did not anticipate was that this G-rated, family-oriented documentary has an agenda. It is not to give us a nature lesson, rather, it states that we are responsible for the destruction of the arctic and the wildlife within it. The movie goes on, claiming that the greenhouse effect is a cause for this. I half expected Al Gore to make a cameo.
I don't necessarily oppose this message, but I do find it wrong to disguise it in a film that is supposed to be about nature. The fact that the filmmakers use cute polar bears that are struggling to survive as an excuse for this message is borderline appalling. "To The Arctic" has good visuals that are suitable for the OMNI-MAX, but watch out for its more than biased message.
Photog good, plot thin and biased, message totally inaccurate and misleading
Boilermaker_bill6812 July 2012
The flick begins by mentioning that polar bears resulted from brown bears (grizzly bears) migrating to the Arctic and adapting to that environment, a theory that comports with accepted thinking. Unfortunately, the idea that polar bears might migrate south and re-adapt to a different climate totally escapes the biased story-line developer. Never have I heard such misguided and erroneous information about anthropogenic global warming and the plight of a subspecies. That said, the photography was exceptionally good in part. While providing a glimpse into the life of polar bears, the focus on their supposed plight became tedious and boring. Minor and limited photography of other wildlife and sea creatures was of interest if you can forget the overall bias. I have to wonder how the story-line might be altered if presented from the point of view of the seal - a primary source of food for the bear as presented by the flick. I also continue to ask myself the question, "Does Ms. Streep have the slightest clue why Greenland is so named when 80% is covered in ice today?". I certainly enjoyed much of the photography, though the film dragged at times and the bias caused attention to drag.
don't go with your young kids
kenstogie3 April 2013
So the camera work was good but not awesome as one would expect in an Imax theater. It was not (in the theater that I went to) even blue ray type quality and sound was muddy. There was no real plot. There are other animals in the Artic other than Polar bears. The worst part about the movie was (as I was watching this with my daughter) that about 10 of the 40 minutes of this movie was about how the Mother was trying to escape the "big bad" father of the cubs. I am not saying don't mention it but come on 25% of the movie?? MY 10 year old did NOT like it and neither did I. I won't say don't watch this movie... oh wait yes I will.
Couldn't watch the whole movie
twistycreek13 April 2015
Within the first 10 minutes, the movie takes an awful turn towards delivering a message on Global Warming. For the life of me, I can't understand why a potentially good movie would be "ruined" by attempting to insert a political message on Global Warming.
Perhaps the filmmakers could give us a heads up that the movie contains "their" opinion that "Global Warming" is man made. We wouldn't have wasted our money to see it.
Sad that a supposed documentary becomes political commentary. I am half surprised it didn't scold us for not voting for Al Gore.
Disgusted.......
Perhaps the filmmakers could give us a heads up that the movie contains "their" opinion that "Global Warming" is man made. We wouldn't have wasted our money to see it.
Sad that a supposed documentary becomes political commentary. I am half surprised it didn't scold us for not voting for Al Gore.
Disgusted.......
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