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Eight Below
Directed by: Frank Marshall
Starring: Paul Walker
Genre:
Action/Adventure
Run Time: 120
min.
Release Date:
February 2006
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
Raise your hand if you
cried when Old Yeller got shot. Come on. Don't be shy. You know who you
are. Okay, now don't you feel better about admitting that?
Disney knows what sells. It's either action/adventure (PIRATES OF THE
CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST) or fuzzy animal stories (EIGHT BELOW). And
here we get a bit of both.
The action takes place in the Antarctic (although the film itself was
never shot there) and focuses on eight dogs left behind at an outlying
station for months and months. Their owner, Jerry Shepherd (Paul Walker,
THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS) is forced to leave his mushing team behind
after an accident and a freak snow storm. Months pass and he's still
unable to return to the base and he soon realizes the dogs must be dead.
But he wants to return and give them a proper burial. The film wanders
back and forth between Jerry and the dogs as we watch Jerry fight to
return to them while witnessing the dogs break free of their chained
collars and survive in one of the most desolate climates the world has
to offer. But can all of them survive? Some are old and others
inexperienced. Jerry won't realize how resilient his team is until his
return.
Based on a true story, Disney has "Disneyfied" the events, of course. In
the original Japanese film based on actual facts (titled Nanyoku
Monogatari), only two of the fifteen dogs survived. But we can't have
that in a Disney film now can we? The thing that bugs me most about the
movie isn't the fact that Disney changed the death-to-survival ratio but
that they felt the need to change it from a Japanese telling to an
American one. Why? Are we afraid to expose our children to other
cultures? Or do we think they won't understand various cultural
differences? Even though I'm bothered about that, I found the film
heartwarming ({sarcastic} big surprise) and well filmed. The story did
feel a bit forced, though, especially when its makers gave human
qualities to the dogs (altruism, bravery, etc.). But still, it's a great
way to draw your audience into the story, and is really the only way to
make the movie watcher empathize with nonhuman characters.
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Image from Eight Below
DVD cost: $29.28
Purchase:
Tower.com (Blu-Ray)
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
The name of the
"Lamborghini" of Snow Cats that they borrowed from the Italian camp was
named "Mare Biscotto", it translates to "Sea Biscuit".
Movie Quote: "We're
gonna fly right back and bring the dogs out. Promise."
Other Actors/Actresses
from Eight Below
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