Polar Bear, a Disney+ live nature film released on Earth Day (April 22, 2022), makes us sit up and take notice of the tremendous challenges these beautiful animals must face because of global warming. It’s a bit sad to watch, but the eye-popping photography keeps our eyes glued to the screen from beginning to end.

Catherine Keener (narrator) voices one member of a polar bear family as she looks back on how her mother bear took care of her cubs during difficult times. Keener may not be Morgan Freeman, but she does an excellent job here. Her voice comes across as soft and manner-of-fact, just like we would expect in this life-like situation.        

A hard-luck life for polar bears

as ice melts away these past years.

A female bear cub lets us know  

about herself, her mom and bro.  

The mother teaches her cubs well.

 Swimming, hunting and where to dwell.

Finding food takes most of their time.

It’s scary when we watch one climb.

Though “Polar Bear” lacks much in plot,

awesome vistas is what it’s got.

Plus, visual lessons that we need

about the Earth’s dangers indeed! 

While watching Polar Bear, my husband and I felt awed by the wonderful  photography of these animals playing together in the snow and ice. We did not know seals were the major source of food for polar bears, so the bloodshed between these two species surprised us. And the daring climb mentioned above is one of the most exciting scenes in a movie so far this year. Marvelous cinematography showing unhealthy changes taking place in the polar bear land is also a highlight of this timely offering.

How does Polar Bear compare to other live animal nature films? Although  not as entertaining as March of the Penguins or Naledi: A Baby Elephant’s Tale, it ends up being a worthy movie for the entire family and should help viewers understand the massive challenges facing our planet.     

There will be no polar ice by 2060. Somewhere along that path, the polar bear drops out.” --- Larry Schweiger, President of National Wildlife Preservation.

Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty. --- Albert Einstein  

(Released by Disney + and rated “PG” by MPAA.)  

DIRECTORS: Alastair Fothergill, Jeff Wilson

WRITER: David Fowler

CINEMATOGRAPHERS: James Ewen, Rolf Steinmann

MUSIC: Harry Gregson-Williams