Film Reviews

Little Polar Bear 2

• Rating:
• Director: Piet de Rycker
• Starring:
• Details: Germany, 81mins, G.

The voices of: Anjella Mackintosh, Ben Bishop, Maximillian Ortajo, Celine Vogt.

A follow up to the successful Little Polar Bear, this adventure sees the friendly little polar bear Lars (Ortajo) and his friend - Robby the seal - embark on a journey to find their homesick penguin friend Caruso who was pushed onto a boat by older polar bullies. On a stowaway ship, the unlikely heroes find themselves far from their homeland in the North Pole when they land on the sunny Galapagos Island. This mysterious island also houses turtles, volcanoes and giant sea creatures. The three friends embark on an adventure that will make them new friends and new enemies.
The animators know exactly who their audience is and aims squarely at that market - pre school kids. This German animation harks back to the softer, more innocent children's cartoon that has been lost due to the migration westwards of everything Manga and the computer animated leaps forward by Pixar, Disney et al. Unfortunately, apart from the bright colours, there's not enough for the little 'uns to enjoy here and even less for the dragged-along parents who get a kick from the 'knowing' post modern contemporary anime like The Incredibles, Madagascar or Toy Story. The poor English dubbing will infuriate some and the overall feeling is that The Little Polar Bear has being left out in the cold, ignored by the digital revolution.

Review by Gavin Burke