Last year An Inconvenient Truth taught us about global warming and the dire consequences it could lead to. The film included an animation of a polar bear swimming long distances because the ice was melting sooner each year. In Arctic Tale, we see in real life these effects are already happening.

Arctic Tale focuses on Nanu, a polar bear cub, and on Seela, a walrus pup, as they begin their lives and grow towards adulthood. Both animals depend on the polar ice for their survival. Polar bears hunt on the ice. Walruses use the ice for communal gathering places. As the ice melts more and more each year, their lives become much more desperate.

Arctic Tale is a wonderful wildlife documentary. Filmmakers Sarah Robertson and Adam Ravetch have provided beautiful and remarkable scenes, not only of polar bears and walruses, but also of other northern inhabitants, such as beluga whales and narwhals. They take us under the icecap to see the wildlife that teems in those waters. This is an up close and personal look at the lives of these animals.

At times it may seem a bit too up close and personal. We are invited to get to know two animals who die in the film. The deaths leave us grieving, especially one slow death. It should be noted that young children could be upset by the deaths in the film.

Death is a reality in nature. Sometimes it is predators killing prey in order to survive; sometimes it is the down side of the principle of survival of the fittest. The deaths are included as a reminder of just how desperate the lives of these animals are. The difficulties they face because of climate change are literally matters of life and death.

This is a film of contrasts. Most obviously is the contrast between the solitary nature of the polar bears and the communal nature of the walruses. Nanu’s mother and brother are the only polar bears she deals with in her young life. Seela, on the other hand, is immediately part of a large community. Seela even has a second mother figure, an “auntie” who cares for her just as a mother would—and is willing to make terrible sacrifices for her safety.

The less noticeable contrast involves the beauty of the images and the “cuteness” of the young animals (even a baby walrus has a certain cuteness factor) and how this is contrasted with the harshness of this severe environment and the predatory nature of some of the animals. There are times when everything seems cute and cuddly, but other times when we see just how dangerous the animals and the landscape really are.

It is an enjoyable time watching these animals, even though the story is not all fluff and happiness. But in the end, the point of the film is not just to revel in the beauty of the shots, the great effort of the filmmakers to get those shots, or the skill and humor with which the story is told. Rather, we are shown first hand the effects of global warming in these animals that could be threatened with extinction if we do not change our ways and address the problem.

Christians understand that we are stewards of God’s earth and creatures. This is not just a matter of politics or economy (although those are certainly major factors). It is also a measure of our spirituality and faithfulness.