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Geologist Davis McClaren (Bruce Greenwood) arrives via plane at the National Science Foundation’s outpost in Antarctica in search of a meteorite. Jerry Shepard (Paul Walker) reluctantly agrees to take McClaren on a search and hitches up his eight sled dogs.
When they return to camp, everyone must evacuate, due to increasingly bad weather. Shepard is distraught at leaving the dogs behind, due to lack of room on the plane. But the base director, Dr. Harrison (Gerard Plunkett), promises that they will return the next day for the dogs. Shepard and cartographer Charlie Cooper (Jason Biggs) secure the animals so they won’t run away in the blinding snow.
When the humans cannot return because of weather, the dogs must fend for themselves. Although these dogs are never “cute,” each one has a personality. Their adventure, ordeal and performances balance well with those of the humans struggling to return to rescue them.
March of the Penguins fascinated us with the Antarctic life cycle in 2005. Eight Below is set in the same frigid and unwelcoming terrain (though shot in Canada, Norway and Greenland). Director Frank Marshall, who gave us Alive in 1993 (about the survival of the Uruguayan rugby team in the Andes), reminds us once again of the gifts of nature that empower creatures to endure and triumph over the greatest odds.
Eight Below is an adaptation of a 1983 Japanese film that was based on true events that occurred in the 1950s. This fine Disney version is inspiring for all but the youngest children, who may be frightened by the peril the humans and animals face.
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