If you are looking for something safe to watch for 3-7 year olds, you have found your movie. Der kleine Eisbär is about as innocent as you can be. Action is quickly followed by moments of rest (some of the best scenes are actually of the bears swimming around the Arctic ocean to absolutely dreamy music). And there is no overt violence. This movie does not exactly show model family relationships with parents who are wimpy and ill discerning and a son who basically deliberately disobeys them. Aside from that, there are subtle messages of interracial tolerance and cooperation scattered throughout, but ultimately the film is a journey experience. The problem is that it is not all that fun to watch except for young children. Curious George (another film made primarily for smaller children) left you grinning from ear to ear during the whole film, despite its many plot holes. Der kleine Eisbär will pretty much leave parents feeling, "Well, at least my kid really likes it." It is too disjointed a movie with payoffs that are too modest to be of much interest to anyone without kids. But, still, if you want a kids' movie...then buy Curious George...and then buy this one if you have some money leftover. ;o)
8 Reviews
Nothing great, but somewhat soothing and kids especially will enjoy it
Horst_In_Translation11 May 2017
Warning: Spoilers
"Der kleine Eisbär" or "The Little Polar Bear" is a German animated movie from 2001, so this one already had its 15th anniversary last year. If you check the crew list, you will see that quite a few people worked on this one. I won't list them in detail, but lets just say that the original books this is based on are by Hans de Beer. The movie is really short, runs for under 70 minutes not counting credits and the protagonist is of course the title character, which means that the film plays in the arctic ice for most of the time. It is a bit on the generic side when it comes to the characters, friends, foes and the story in general, which is mostly about a bear making friends with a seal and as a consequence there is a bit of a ceasefire between these two groups of animals. Which is on the other hand very unlucky for fish, but that's just a side-note. There are some okay moments about the story too and I somehow liked the retro look as this one looks a lot older than 21st century. The prestige of this project can easily be seen in the cast list here as the likes of Busse, Lück, Stelter, Krüger, Bach, Biedermann, Petruo, Völz, Engelke... are very known here in Germany and the No Angels song during the credits is kinda nice too, even if I am not so sure how well its fits the subject of the film. So overall, this was a good film I guess, nothing great and "ausbaufähig" when it comes to story telling, but the cuteness, harmlessness and innocence of it all makes up for that. I will watch the sequel at some point too and I hope that one is on the same level. We will see.
Hardly a classic, but diverting
jakehadlee12 September 2010
Very run-of-the-mill - something for the kids to watch on a rainy Sunday when there's nothing else on.
You get the feeling they weren't really trying very hard with the translation - something that seems common to almost all dubbed cartoons.
Storyline is derivative, and - OK it's a film about talking animals - but even so, suspension of disbelief is strained to breaking point at times.
Just to correct a review from earlier - he says "come back stupid ice floe", not "Come back stupid ass fool".
You get the feeling they weren't really trying very hard with the translation - something that seems common to almost all dubbed cartoons.
Storyline is derivative, and - OK it's a film about talking animals - but even so, suspension of disbelief is strained to breaking point at times.
Just to correct a review from earlier - he says "come back stupid ice floe", not "Come back stupid ass fool".
not that good
wildwiltedrose17 March 2007
Warning: Spoilers
This could be a cute movie for kids My grandson watched it once. he was watching it a second time I was watching some of it with him.
When the little bear gets lost on the ice burg and he is in the water he is trying to get to a piece of ice it says "Come back stupid ass fool".
I don't want my 3 year old grandson watching movies with words like this in it.
That is why its rated for children. Should be child friendly. That is what I would expect. put out by warner brothers and G rated I would expect this to not have cuss words in it. The words don't even fit the movie in most places as it seems added later. And the movie drags out in many parts.
When the little bear gets lost on the ice burg and he is in the water he is trying to get to a piece of ice it says "Come back stupid ass fool".
I don't want my 3 year old grandson watching movies with words like this in it.
That is why its rated for children. Should be child friendly. That is what I would expect. put out by warner brothers and G rated I would expect this to not have cuss words in it. The words don't even fit the movie in most places as it seems added later. And the movie drags out in many parts.
Enchanting children's film
frojavigdis5 June 2002
In a time of video-game based cartoons, "Der Kleine Eisbär" (The Little Polarbear) stands out as a pure and sweet movie for children which is, at the same time, exciting and not at all wishy-washy.
The basis of the story is the small bear's relationship with another young animal, a walrus. The two become close friends, to the chagrin of their elders. The two societies do not mix (while it never directly says so, it is, of course, known that polar bears prey on walruses). Therefore, the elders decide to allow the two youngsters to continue to play in exchange for a tithe of fish.
There is no violence in the film, and yet it raises thoughts and questions about justice and tolerance of others. Also, the movie is based on one story of many from a Dutch author, so it allows children to continue the adventures of the little polar bear through the books.
The basis of the story is the small bear's relationship with another young animal, a walrus. The two become close friends, to the chagrin of their elders. The two societies do not mix (while it never directly says so, it is, of course, known that polar bears prey on walruses). Therefore, the elders decide to allow the two youngsters to continue to play in exchange for a tithe of fish.
There is no violence in the film, and yet it raises thoughts and questions about justice and tolerance of others. Also, the movie is based on one story of many from a Dutch author, so it allows children to continue the adventures of the little polar bear through the books.
A cute and charming tale of friendship and acceptance.
TheLittleSongbird25 July 2009
I found the Little Polar Bear a cute and charming animated tale, that teaches the values of friendship and accepting others. The animation is mostly beautiful with imaginative Antarctic landscapes, and a colourful portrayal of The South. I also loved the soundtrack sung by No Angels, and the sweeping incidental music beautifully played by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The central characters, Lars and Robbie are very likable and sweet, their friendship adding to the film's appeal. The three "villainous" polar bears are quite nasty, and I will say all the characters are well voiced. I have two complaints, one being Caruso, while he is well animated and provides some of the humour, the humour got a bit too much, particularly over serious scenes. The film is also too short, so the secondary characters could have been developed more, had it been 5-10 minutes longer. Despite these complaints, I found it very charming, and I would definitely watch it again. 8/10 Bethany Cox.
fine movie for children
dollenhond18 June 2003
Masterpiece
nlszmn3 June 2020
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