"EIGHT BELOW"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5 stars) STARRING Paul Walker as JERRY SMITH Bruce Greenwood as DAVIS MCLAREN Moon Bloodgood as KATIE Jason Biggs as COOPER Rated PG Studio: Disney Directed by: Frank Marshall Back to DVD Review Home |  |
This is the summer for dog releases from Disney DVD. Not only did the studio release “Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure” on the heels of the original “Lady and the Tramp.” They will also release the remake of “The Shaggy Dog” in August. Sandwiched between the two films is the live-action Disney adventure “Eight Below.”
The film takes place in Antarctica, at the bottom of the world. Researcher Davis McLaren (Bruce Greenwood) has come in to find a recently crashed meteor. He and guide Jerry Smith (Paul Walker) head out on a dogsled to find his rock. However, along the way, McLaren falls in the ice and suffers a broken leg. With a massive winter storm bearing down on them, the team evacuates, leaving the dogs for a few days.
When those days turn into months because of an impending storm, Smith realizes that his dogs are basically being abandoned in the frozen South. Over the next six months, Smith struggles to find a way back to save his dogs. Fortunately, the dogs aren’t waiting for his help. They start to fend for themselves in an uplifting story of survival.
This films was a surprise hit earlier this year, and it is all attributable to the dogs. In general, any character that has less than four legs could be dropped from the film. Part of this is the result of lukewarm casting. (And I ask, when has Paul Walker really been anything but that?) However, it’s also from the writing. It’s clear that the dogs held more fascination with the filmmakers than their human counterparts.
I recently traveled to Alaska, and while that state is farther from Antarctica than where I presently live, it is much closer in climate. We visited Denali National Park and got to see real Alaskan Husky sled dogs in action. There is something remarkable and majestic about these creatures, and that is the fire behind this movie.
In some ways, “Eight Below” is actually a better family film on DVD than it was in the theaters. While the parts with the dogs will keep kids interested, there’s too much downtime with the human characters. I experienced that first hand in the theater, with restless kids and parents too rude to tell them to keep their mouths shut.
However, on DVD, there’s a magical thing called the fast-forward button. It allows you to bust out of a scene where Paul Walker is embarrassing himself by trying to emote, and jump to the next shot of the dogs surviving the frozen wild. It also allows you to take the film in small doses if your kids have that short of attention spans. Of course, it also allows you to rewind and watch the mild scary parts a second time, like when the leopard seal ambushes the dogs.
The DVD comes with several deleted scenes with director commentary. There’s also a great feature called “Running with the Dogs: The Making of Eight Below,” which fortunately focuses mostly on the canine stars of the film.
Finally, there are two DVD commentary tracks. One features the director and the producer, while the other features the director with actors and the cinematographer. The only weak spot in these commentaries is when director Frank Marshall insists on summarizing the scene you’re watching rather than talking about the behind-the-scenes of the film itself.
“Eight Below” is a good bet for families all around. The dogs are cute, and the scenery is beautiful. It’s a worthy addition to Disney’s long list of live action films about animals.
Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Widescreen (2.40:1), enhanced for 16x9 televisions. French and Spanish language tracks. French and Spanish subtitles. English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.
