This was an enjoyable film. Paul Walker plays Jerry, a travel guide in Antarctica and has 8 huskies who are good at dogsledding, and part of his family (as much as family for a single guy who spends 6 months in Antarctica). Bruce Greenwood plays a scientist looking for Mercury meteorite, and finds himself in Antarctica looking for it. With the help of Jerry and the 8 huskies, they embark on a journey filled with wonderful shots of a frozen continent, and some hazards that require leaving the huskies behind to evacuate from the coming winter storms.
Jerry is crushed by not being able to make it back to go get the huskies, and struggles to find a way back, even just to see how the huskies fared in one of the most brutal winters in the past quarter of a century (film is set in 1993).
This films isn't a film for kids who may problems with the food chain when it comes to survival by the huskies. But the huskies are really easy to love and root for as they fight for survival from not only the climate, but also for substenance.
I give it 3 stars, or a grade of B.
My reaction to the ending of the film:
Spoiler:
I had tears welling up, and it was hard to hold them back, so I gave up and just them go. I'm a softie for animal films, I guess.
Fun movie, beautiful dogs, nice scenery. Some aspects shouldn't be analyzed too hard, but it's worth suspending your disbelief. And yes, it's a tearjerker.
There is an article in today's Anchorage Daily News (adn.com) about the dogs from Soldotna, Alaska who played one of the dogs in the film.
And this week there was an interesting article about the rescue of several mushers and their teams from dangerously bad weather in the Yukon Quest, a long distance (1100 miles or so) race in Alaska/Canada. They were helicoptered out, with mushers and dogs crammed into a 5 x 7 cargo space so tightly that they shut the doors and kept loading dogs through the windows. One of the pilots commented that it was tricky to fly and not sit on dogs, but it was a trip of a lifetime.
I can't wait to see this film next weekend! My fiancee and I own an 8 year-old red husky. I'll have to bring some tissues for her, because she'll probably start crying at the opening credits.
Can someone give the ending, and what is so tear-jerking about it? I want to bring my 5- and 8- year olds to this, but I really don't want a sob-fest on my hands if some or all the dogs die. If it's just suspenseful or sentimental, that's ok.
During the course of the film, 2 of the dogs die. (One never makes it off the chain, and another falls down an embankment.) After MONTHS of trying to get back to save the dogs, Jerry and his gang finally make it out there. The post to which all the dogs were chain-tied is buried in snow and Jerry grabs the end of the first leash, only to find a frozen paw underneath. He presumes they are all under there, crying that "they never even got free". But as he pulls up the long chain, all the other links spring free and he realizes the others broke free. Soon, they hear barks and 5 dogs come over the snowy hill. . .but not Maya, the lead female and Jerry's favorite. As everyone loads into the helicopter, Max, the youngest dog, barks at Jerry to follow him. He leads Jerry over the hill to the prone figure of Maya. Jerry cries over Maya's seemingly lifeless body, but she stirs and he joyously carries her to the helicopter, telling the rest of his gang that she'll be fine.
P.S. There is one jolting moment involving a humongous leopard seal that may be a bit frightening for young children.
I have talked with friends whose children (5,7,9) were not overwhelmed by this movie. Of course, these are Alaskan kids who are a little closer to the dangers of life in the wild than many American kids are.
I survived both the death of Bambi's mother and Old Yeller without lifelong scars.
It's not really a question of scarring them for life, it's the potential for hysterics in the theater during the movie. It's funny-- the things that upset them are usually not the things that I expected. My five-year old was not upset in he least by Anakin bursting into flames (his favorite character, by the way), but he was terrified of Johnny Depp as Willie Wonka when we saw it in the theater. I have a feeling that the "animals in danger" aspect would bother my eight-year old-- he's the one I'm more concerned about.
