A skilled guide at an isolated Antarctic base, Jerry (walker) knows it's not a good idea to take a two-day journey across cracking ice fields. But the client (Greenwood) is insistent, so off they go. They make it back, thanks to Jerry's team of eight sled dogs, but they're forced to evacuate without the dogs. It'll be six long months until Jerry, his buddy (Biggs) and gal-pal pilot (Bloodgood) are able to go back. There's no way eight dogs could survive an Antarctic winter alone. Or could they?

Herein lies the problem with Disneyfication. We know full well what's going to happen, and instead of leave any doubt, we get the parallel stories of Jerry trying to mount a rescue and the dogs taking their Incredible Journey. It's beautifully filmed, with lots of adventure and peril, but we never have any doubts. So it's not hugely exciting. We're left to enjoy the acting (by humans and dogs), the cinematography and the spectacularly snowy cinematography.

Walker is fine in the role; he's always surprisingly likeable, and we do feel his connection with the dogs, his only real family. Biggs gets the wacky Steve Zahn role, joking at every turn and livening things up whenever he's on screen. Greenwood and Bloodgood fill their cliched shoes better than the script deserved. And the dogs are terrific, although the filmmakers give them human personalities so we can see which one is heroic, generous, selfless, stupid, and so on.

This is a very cheap storytelling device, and it's sad to say that it works perfectly. (Although the cheap CGI seal-monster thing isn't quite as convincing.) If there'd been a slight sense of intelligence about the script, or more raw honesty in the storyline, this could have been a ripping true-life tale of bravery and emotion that would have engaged grown ups as much as the doggy-loving kids.

some suspense, mild grisliness

5.Mar.06