Discovery's 'Polar Bear' Enough to Thaw Hearts

When it comes to cold-weather creatures on celluloid, penguins get all the love.

From last year's "March of the Penguins" to the current animated film "Happy Feet," folks can't get enough of those tuxedoed charmers in all their adorableness. But what of the mighty polar bear? Seems the only exposure the lumbering white giant gets is in lowly TV commercials, sucking down bottles of cola product.

Now, though, there's "The Great Polar Bear Adventure," a winning little film about a bear family -- mother Ikuk and her cubs Cassie and Asak -- trying to survive harsh conditions.

The movie uses archival footage from the Arctic culled by director Robert Cohen from various nature films, but also mixes in CGI animation to give the appearance that these bears can talk. Turns out they're pretty corny creatures, too, given the dialogue they're assigned by Cohen and co-writer Sean Jara.

"Do you see those white, shining things glittering in the sky?" Ikuk asks her children as they stare at the stars. "They are sky ice, the souls of polar bears who are no longer with us."

When the Northern Lights appear, she says they represent the "souls" of polar bears, and that "in our souls, we are as big as rainbows."

Some adult viewers might have trouble stomaching such talk, but preteens should eat it up.

And speaking of eating, the bears' sometimes-gory quest for a good meal might disturb very young viewers. Poor seals suffer in bloody fashion. Early on, one fat seal is seen lounging on an ice floe lamenting the fact that she's "all blubber this season." A second later, she's lunch. (In this film, seal meat goes down like popcorn.)

There are, however, giggle-inducing moments definitely intended for the kiddies, such as references to "yellow snow" and instances of polar bear flatulence.

Besides one mean bear named Krakush -- an old lecher who's got a thing for Ikuk -- the bad guys in this film are humans and their darned global warming.

"Summers are getting hotter every year," Ikuk remarks to Bjorn, the father of her children. " . . . It's the two-legs. For such small creatures, they sure generate a lot of heat."

Bjorn splits soon before his spawn are born, but it'd be unfair to single him out as a deadbeat polar papa. As the narrator explains: "As with all polar bears, motherhood was an adventure she would have to face on her own."

Most of the voice work is done by little-known actors (and legendary hockey announcer Don Cherry, who voices a husky), with one exception: "Deal or No Deal" host Howie Mandel takes his vocals an octave higher to portray Pupa, an annoying arctic fox who tags along with the bear family.

Mandel might know his way around a reality game show, but it's the blend of reality and playful fantasy that makes this film so cute. Even a loyal penguin lover might be won over.

The Great Polar Bear Adventure (one hour) premieres tomorrow morning at 9 on Discovery Kids.