Perry’s Previews Movie Review & Filmmaker Interview: To the Arctic (IMAX)

Perry Chen with Brad Ohlund, Director of Photography, To the Arctic at RHFleet press screening (photo by Zhu Shen)

Perry’s Previews Movie Review: To the Arctic (IMAX) April 20, 2012

Rated: G

4 out of 5 starfish

By Perry S. Chen

To The Arctic Film Still, Courtesy of IMAX

Have you ever wondered how animals of the ice-bound arctic cope with the rapidly changing environment? In the new IMAX film directed by Oscar-nominee Greg MacGillivray (The Living Sea, Dolphin), “To the Arctic” reveals the harsh reality of the environmental impact that humans have on the habitats of polar bears, walrus, caribou, and various other arctic animals, and provides a window into the world of challenges for the mothers of these animals. There are some really shocking facts too, such as how the polar ice caps could melt by as early as 2050 if we do nothing now, and polar bears are on “thin ice” with the possibility of becoming extinct!

“To the Arctic” is all about how arctic animals cope with the disintegrating environment, but mainly about how a polar bear mother overcomes great challenges to keep her two cubs alive in the changing world. She has to deal with thin, dangerous ice, a scarce food source, and vicious male bears, who, if they can’t find seals to eat, are happy to consume polar bear cubs as well.

The story begins as Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep gives a background on the life of animals of the arctic. The caribou herd goes on an arduous migration to Alaska hundreds of miles away from the arctic to give birth each spring, but the exceptionally long summer (due to global warming) disrupts their ancient ritual. Then, the story shifts to a mother polar bear with twin cubs, whom the crew filmed for five days up close. Throughout the time, the bear struggled with feeding her cubs despite a dwindling milk supply, and outwitting starving male bears.

Speaking about the polar bear mom, Streep said, “That’s something we human mothers can empathize with very strongly, the desire to safeguard our children and make their future secure. You’ll do anything, anything, to help them survive.”

There were many things I liked about this “Perrific!” 4 starfish film. First of all, I enjoyed the visual effects, especially the stunning view of the crystalline, white glacier and the shattered ice floes that covered the ocean. My favorite scene is when curious polar bears played around with cameras disguised as an iceberg in white plastic. The bears chased after the rolling camera that the cameraman was trying to steer away from them.

The dome theater at the San Diego Reuben H. Fleet Science Center where I attended the press screening really made the images pop out of the screen, and it made me feel like I’m actually in the Arctic, since I was surrounded by the pictures. I enjoyed the arctic-themed music by Paul McCartney, and Meryl Streep’s narration was done skillfully in a lively manner. This movie really raises awareness about how critically important it is to save the environment. Even I never knew that global warming is irreversible!

Many people know about the polar ice caps melting, but many don’t take action. I hope to take action by promoting this film, and possibly donating to organizations that help these animals, such as www.oneworldoneocean.org Most importantly, I want to reduce my carbon footprint by recycling more, consuming less packaged goods, and using more carpool. At home, we recycle anything we can and keep a compost bin for kitchen scraps and garden waste. We use reusable bags instead of plastic bags while grocery shopping. My mom declined plastic bags when checking out at a Target store today, and instead carried what she bought into our car by hand. Every single global citizen should do his or her own part to slow down global warming and save our environment, so that the children of tomorrow can appreciate such majestic animals as the polar bears. I challenge you to find new ways to reduce your own carbon footprint too.

Though this is a great film, there are some parts of it that could be improved. In one of the scenes, the top of the dome looked a bit distorted. The ice seemed to be swirling around at the top. Finally, I thought that in some parts of the film, the music wasn’t necessary. For example, when the polar bear cubs were playing with each other, I would rather have the visuals tell the story without the songs. Overall, “To the Arctic” is a powerful conservation documentary with few flaws that I recommend to audience five and older.

After the press screening, the audience had a lively Q&A with Brad Ohlund, the director of photography for the film. He answered all of the questions well and had a great sense of humor. When a young boy asked why polar bears don’t like humans, he replied, “They actually do! They like them raw!” Brad revealed many secrets about how the team filmed the polar bears and how he worked behind the scenes. It was extremely dangerous to film polar bears, since they aggressively hunt humans. He said that the photographers often have no idea how much danger they were in until they reviewed their footage. Some of the photographers dove down underneath the polar bears while they were swimming. The cameraman was swimming 10 feet below the colossal bears to photograph them, since the bears didn’t like to dive after humans!

Perry Chen with Brad Ohlund dedication page of “To the Arctic” companion book (photo by Zhu Shen)

On May 9, 2012, I was thrilled to receive an autographed copy of the companion photography book of “To the Arctic” IMAX film from Brad Ohlund by FedEx, just before mom & I went to the special event at Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, featuring Florian Schulz, the author and photographer for this book! Brad wrote, “To Perry, Keep up your reviews and filmmaking, Best, Brad Ohlund”

Perry Chen and Florian Schulz holding "To the Arctic" book at Reuben H Fleet Science Center (photo by Zhu Shen)

Florian Schulz autographing To the Arctic book for Perry Chen at Reuben H. Fleet Science Center (photo by Zhu Shen)

I wad delighted to interview Florian Schulz before his lecture & presentation about the making of the “To the Actic” film and the companion book. He also autographed for me! “To Perry, I started photography when I was your age. It is best to follow your passion because you can be the best you can be. From Florian Schulz.”

Indeed, Florian started taking pictures of animals when he was a young boy my age. His parents gave him a telescope which he used to watch wild life: birds and foxes. “I loved being so close to the animals that I can watch their every move, for example, playing with each other, the wind in their features, singing… I could always tell stories about it. When I was able to take photographs, that made a big difference. Suddenly, people could understand what I saw.” To young kids, Florian gave them the same advice he gave me: start early and follow your dream, and never stop.

Florian spent over 18 months over 10 years to shoot the images in the book. He was attracted to the Arctic because there were few people in the vast wilderness and he loved polar bears. When asked about photograph techniques, he said, “it’s good to photograph the subject from very high up, and very low down, and shoot with a wide lens, zoom in and out, so you can shoot from difference perspectives.” Florian said the Arctic is one of his favorite places to take photographs. It is one of the last truly wild, beautiful places on Earth that we can help to preserve. The ice in the Arctic is melting at an alarming rate, he hopes to bring awareness to people so we can all help save the paradise of the polar bears, and stop big oil companies from drilling for oil in the pristine Arctic. I hope the President can see this film because only he can stop the oil company from drilling in the Arctic.

Moral: If we don’t care for our world today, it will be lost forever for our children tomorrow.

Watch trailer: www.imax.com/tothearctic

If you live in San Diego, check out the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center screenings of the film. On Mother’s Day (May 12, 2012), all mothers can watch the film for free:

http://www.rhfleet.org/site/imax/tothearctic.cfm

——————–

About Perry Chen:

Perry S. Chen is an 12-year-old award-winning child film critic, artist, animator, TEDx speaker, and entertainment personality, currently in 6^th grade from San Diego. He started reviewing movies at age 8 in 3^rd grade using a kid-friendly starfish rating system, and has been featured in CBS, NPR, NBC, CNN, CCTV (China Central Television), Variety, Animation Magazine, The Young Icons, The Guardian, The China Press, etc. He was a presenter at the 2010 Annie Awards for Animation, and has written movie reviews for Animation World Network, San Diego Union Tribune, Amazing Kids! Magazine, and his own Perry’s Previews blog:

www.perryspreviews.com

Perry won an “Excellence in Journalism Award” from San Diego Press Club in 2010 and 2011 for his movie and restaurant reviews, an “Excellence Writer Award” from “We Chinese in America” Magazine in 2010 for his movie review column. Perry is widely recognized as an authoritative spokesperson about movies for his generation, and appears frequently at red carpet movie premieres, awards, and film festivals, interviewing prominent directors from such films as Toy Story 3, Up, How to Train Your Dragon. He was a presenter at the 2010 Annie Awards for Animation in Hollywood. Perry and his mom Dr. Zhu Shen are featured in a new book about parenting and youth entrepreneurship, “The Parent’s Guide to Raising CEO Kids,” published in Aug 2011.

Perry’s first animation short “Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest” won multiple film festival awards. More info: http://ingridpitt.co.uk

Become a fan on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/ingridpittanimation (Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest official FB page)

http://www.facebook.com/perryspreviewsfan (Perry’s Previews fan page)

Subscribe to Perry’s YouTube channel and watch his filmmaker interviews:

http://www.youtube.com/perryspreviews

Follow his tweets: http://twitter.com/perryspreviews

For more information about Perry Chen, his animation films, and movie reviews, contact Dr. Zhu Shen, bioforesight at gmail dot com

Click on pen to